Can The Earth Live Without The Sun?

Humans Don't Use Much Solar Energy, Can The Earth Live Without The Sun?

Earth cannot live without the sun. The planets in the solar system have different temperatures, which result from the degree to which they are affected by the sun's radiation. The closer the planet is to the Sun, the stronger the solar radiation it receives and the higher the temperature with it. Conversely, planets farther from the sun are less affected. For example, we can think of Neptune and Mercury as the poles of ice and fire. In the entire universe, the average temperature is about minus 270,424 degrees Celsius. Since there is no heat radiation from stars, the temperature in the universe is actually very low.

Some might argue that most of today's energy sources come from coal, nuclear power, and hydropower and that solar energy is not widely used, so the importance of the sun is not as prominent. However, in reality, almost all the energy that humans consume on Earth comes from solar energy. For example, plants need solar energy for photosynthesis. And the use of energy such as coal, oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, wind energy, water energy, tidal energy, etc., mainly depends on solar energy. It is the energy of the sun that drives the circulation of the Earth's atmosphere, the formation of precipitation, and the formation of rivers. Plants fix nitrogen on Earth through photosynthesis, and coal is formed through geochemical processes. Atmospheric circulation creates winds, oceans maintain water circulation, and tides are maintained. So, all of these originate from the sun!

There are only two sources of energy unrelated to the sun, nuclear energy and geothermal energy. These two energy sources have nothing to do with the sun because they come from the Earth's core. The temperature of the inner core of the Earth can reach 6800 degrees Celsius, which explains the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In fact, the Earth's interior is a giant ball of fire that is constantly pumping geothermal energy to the surface. However, the perception of surface temperature is relatively small due to the influence of the Earth's crust.

According to related forecasts, the influence of the Earth's internal temperature on the surface temperature is about 30 degrees Celsius. In other words, if there were no sun, the temperature on Earth's surface would be about 30 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperature of the entire universe (about minus 270,424 degrees Celsius), about minus 240 degrees Celsius.

From this figure, it can be seen that without the sun, the temperature on the earth's surface would be very low. And in the end, the Earth will become an "ice ball". And the plants will wither, and the atmospheric moisture will gradually condense and cause rains, and then snowflakes. Plants will not be able to accumulate energy due to the inability to perform photosynthesis and eventually die. Forests, lakes, etc. will gradually disappear. And the Earth will become a wandering planet with a dark surface and a temperature of more than minus 200 degrees Celsius. Perhaps on such a planet, humans can only evolve underground, or fly out into the universe, looking for the next planet suitable for survival.