Type of Light | Source | |
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Under conditions that exist on Earth, Iron has 26 electrons orbiting around the nucleus. At temperatures near 1 million degrees Kelvin in the Sun's corona, 8 out of the 26 electrons have been knocked free by the violent collisions that occur at these high temperatures. 8-times ionized iron gives off invisible ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 17.5 nm (1 nm = one billionth of a meter). The Earth's atmosphere filters out light at these wavelengths so we must view the sun from space at these frequencies. |  |
Iron on Earth | ||
| The sun has trace amounts of iron in its atmosphere. On Earth, iron is a silvery-white metal that is found throughout the Earth's crust. It is also a critical component of the human body found in blood cells and necessary for the proper functioning of cells and muscles. |  |
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