I think I have heard that it takes aeons for light to progress from the centre of the Sun to reach the surface.

 

At that point I imagine it moves instantaneously at the speed c

 

Are we talking about an expanding sphere at this point? Countless billions of expanding spheres of light ?

 

Are these spheres perfectly symmetrical or are they "oblong" at the point where they emerge from the medium of the Sun into the vacuum of Space?

 

Can I take it that the spheres do no interact with each other?

 

Is the picture I have in my mind of porridge bubbling any help at all? Or the Icelandic hot springs/geysers perhaps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope I posted in the right sub forum.

Edited November 15, 20169 yr by geordief

The sun is oblate, so the emitted light wave front distribution would initially have that shape, but the deviation from spherical would be imperceptible after getting a few radii away.

 

The light would not interact with other light emitted earlier or later.

 

Ripples on a pond is a good visualization in 2D.

The sun is oblate, so the emitted light wave front distribution would initially have that shape, but the deviation from spherical would be imperceptible after getting a few radii away.

 

The light would not interact with other light emitted earlier or later.

 

Ripples on a pond is a good visualization in 2D.

Does the wave front also direct itself back into the Sun. Are we talking about non symmetrical micro spheres that expand into the surrounding space?

Does the wave front also direct itself back into the Sun. Are we talking about non symmetrical micro spheres that expand into the surrounding space?

 

 

Some light must be directed back into the sun, since it's scattering, but the net amount is outward. Huygens principle applies here — every point looks like a source of a spherical wave

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huygens–Fresnel_principle

 

 

Some light must be directed back into the sun, since it's scattering, but the net amount is outward. Huygens principle applies here — every point looks like a source of a spherical wave

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huygens–Fresnel_principle

thanks. I will have a look.