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Old 04-04-2018, 10:56 PM   #1302 (permalink)
freebeard
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None. The Sun is presumed to be a fusion reactor, the Earth is sub-critical. The heat is from decay in the outer electron rings, IIRC. Doesn't affect mass.

edit:
Nobody going to call me on that? I was skeptical so I found:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com...f-earths-heat/
Quote:
And Earth is chock full of such radioactive elements—primarily uranium, thorium and potassium. Over the billions of years of Earth's existence, the radioactive isotopes have been splitting, releasing energy as well as these antineutrinos—just like in a man-made nuclear reactor. That energy heats the surrounding rock and keeps the elemental forces of plate tectonics in motion
[snip]
The new measurements suggest radioactive decay provides more than half of Earth's total heat, estimated at roughly 44 terawatts based on temperatures found at the bottom of deep boreholes into the planet's crust. The rest is leftover from Earth's formation or other causes yet unknown, according to the scientists involved. Some of that heat may have been trapped in Earth's molten iron core since the planet's formation, while the nuclear decay happens primarily in the crust and mantle.
So, TLDR: Trapped heat in the core (maybe) & sub-critical decay in the crust.
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Last edited by freebeard; 04-05-2018 at 01:58 AM..