The Sun Research Paper

The Sun is the source of most of the energy that drives the life in the world around us in oceans, organic life, and in the atmosphere. It’s one of the most important processes to humanity as it provides various elements that are essential to human survival, such as photosynthesis, the water cycle, and light. However, the Sun isn't all righteous due to various factors that contribute to the Sun being damaging to organisms on Earth. To understand more about why the Sun can be harmful one must grasp the basics of what the sun is composed of, ultraviolet rays, and ozone depletion needs to be understood. Our Sun is the central part of our solar system; if the sun didn't exist several things wouldn't occur: the process of photosynthesis would not take place, oxygen cannot be created, thus, life cannot be present. The Sun is mostly composed of “ hydrogen and helium”(Helmenstine). Hydrogen atoms are compressed and fuse together, creating helium. This process is called nuclear fusion making the Sun a gigantic ball of molten gas and plasma. Hydrogen is one the most abundant elements that …show more content…
Radiation of these short wavelengths vibrates at very high frequency and can damage living cells and tissues. UV rays come in different types such as UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C. “UV-B causes damage at the molecular level to the fundamental building block of life— deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)”(Allen). UV-A plays an important role in the formation of Vitamin D and UV-C is absorbed in the atmosphere. “Overexposure to UV-B reduces size, productivity, and quality in many of the crop plant species that have been studied…”(Allen). Increased exposure to UV-B ras can be pressing issue involving human health as it affects photosynthesis (see Figure 1.1), destruction of DNA, and a factor in skin cancer. Increased UV-B radiation results