We all know that the sun is going to die some billions of years from now but there’s another topic that is quite interesting to think about: what happens if the sun disappeared?
Of course, it just can’t disappear based on the laws of Physics yet let us just theoretically imagine that the sun, for some reason, disappears in a blink of an eye. What if one day, it just goes out, never to be seen again? What happens next?
According to a video created by Vsauce on YouTube, it would be impossible for us to know that the sun is gone at the exact instant this happens because it takes light 8 minutes and 20 seconds to travel to the earth. But when humans realize the sun is gone, there would be mass panic and confusion as everyone scrambled to find answers as to what actually happened and what would happen next.
Now, the lack of light and warmth from the sun is not the only problem we will be facing. Without the sun’s gravitational pull on our planet, we (along with the rest of the objects in the solar system) would soon be traveling towards outer space, careening towards the other planets or any heavenly body that comes in our path.
If we, somehow, managed to survive this trip on what is now “spaceship Earth”, instead of planet Earth, is there a chance we can still live?
Most people would say, we would die immediately! Well, unless the Earth collides with a large planetary body, there is still chance humanity will survive for a few more years.
You see, as Vsauce pointed out, plants are not our only source of oxygen. There is still plenty of oxygen supply in the atmosphere for all people and animals to use for thousands of years. So, even if plants die, we can still live.
However, though that ensures humans can live for a long time even without the sun, the real concern is the living conditions on Earth.
Within a year after the sun disappeared, the Earth’s waters will begin to freeze as heat within the planet is lost to space. Temperatures across the world would also be below freezing. We could still make use of electricity to ward off the cold and to have light yet there would come a time when the gases will freeze because of the extreme cold. How would be breathe then? Somehow, we might still be able to prolong our lives using gas tanks but these would probably be used up before we find new ways to survive.
In the end, humans, animals, and plants will be gone. However, lower forms of life might still survive: thermophiles and those creatures that have long evolved to adapt in extreme conditions.
Who knows? Our Earth could be captured by another sun and life would evolve once again in the same way it did for us?
Watch the interesting explanation here:
