lifeonmercury
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Eventually the Sun will go through its phases and cool down. Is it possible to calculate how long it will take for the surface to cool to 75 degrees Fahrenheit?
The Sun will take over 14 billion years to cool to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, transitioning from a white dwarf to a black dwarf. This cooling process is longer than the current age of the universe, which is approximately 13.8 billion years. As the Sun cools, it will eventually become a red giant before becoming a white dwarf, and then a black dwarf, a stage that has not yet been observed in the universe. The cooling rate slows significantly, taking millions to billions of years for a mere degree change.
PREREQUISITESAstronomers, astrophysics students, and anyone interested in the long-term evolution of stars and the fate of the universe.
Yes, that's the way I also understand it. A White Dwarf would need more than the lifetime of the universe to finally reach a black dwarf or cinder stage, and that is evident in the fact that as yet we have never seen one nor have any evidence of them as yet.rootone said:I can't remember a figure for this, but yes a white dwarf cooling to a black dwarf would take a very long time.
The cooler it gets the less it radiates until it's taking millions, even billions of years to cool by 1 more degree.
I can recall somebody who did math on this coming up with the conclusion that so far, no black dwarf can exist.
The universe isn't old enough yet.