The sun is surrounded by a white circle of gaseous material called the corona, w

Question

The sun is surrounded by a white circle of gaseous material called the corona, which becomes visible during a total eclipse of the sun. The temperature of the corona is in the millions of degrees celsius, which is high enough to break up molecules and remove some or all of the electrons from atoms. The emission spectrum of Fe14+ ions has been recorded an analyzed. Given that it takes 3.5x10^4 kj/mol to convert Fe13+ to Fe14+, estimate the temperature of the sun's corona. (The average kinetic energy of one mole of a gas is 3/2 R T.)

Explanation / Answer

As it is given that the energy needed to remove one mole of electron from the gas is (3/2RT) where R is the universal gas constant with a value: 8.314 joule/mol.K. So,we have, (3/2)*R*T = 3.5 *10^7(joule/mol). Substituing the value of R, we get T to be approx 2.8065*10^6 Kelvin.

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