Explain, with reference to the Schwarzschild radius, why the sun isn’t a black hole.

The Schwarzschild radius of the sun can be calculated using Rs= (2GM)/c2. Substitute in the mass of the sun (M=21030), the speed of light (c=3108), and the universal gravitational constant (G=6.67410-11). a radius of 2966.35m will be calculated
Comparing this to the actual radius of the sun (7
105km) it is seen that the real radius is much larder than the Schwarzschild radius. This means that the Schwarzschild zone ends within the sun! (I.e the sun would have to be <3000m in order to be a black hole.

LB
Answered by Libbie B. Physics tutor

5054 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Why does resistance increase with temperature?


Describe the transfers of energy occurring when a ball is thrown vertically up in the air and falls back down to Earth, assuming there is no friction from the air.


Find the period of a wave given that it has a speed of 200m/s and a wavelength of 2m


What is Fleming's left hand rule?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning