Abstract
It is pointed out that the time scale of energy transport in the Sun is the Kelvin–Helmholtz time scale, of order 3×107 years, roughly 100 times longer than the photon-diffusion time estimated by Mitalas and Sills (1992). The difference corresponds to a factor U gas/U rad, the ratio of thermal energy density to radiation energy density. Thus the heat transport, even when mediated by photons, is slowed down by the large heat capacity of the star. A numerical example calculation is presented.
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Stix, M. On the time scale of energy transport in the sun. Sol Phys 212, 3–6 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022952621810
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022952621810