Question

Suppose that on a routine trip around the galaxy, your dog puts his head out of the spacecraft window (as dogs often do). The solar wind has a temperature of approximately 104 K. Would your dog’s head burn up immediately? Explain briefly in the context of temperature versus heat (assume your dog holds his breath during the exercise and can withstand low pressure).

Answer 1

Answer: Yes, the dog's head will burn

Explanation:Solar winds are strongly destructive magnetically charged high energy winds. Satellite communication on earth and the occasional geomagnetic storm near the poles are the major disruptive effects caused by solar winds on earth.

Since solar winds are streams of charged particles released from the upperparts of the Sun, called the "corona". This plasma mainly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between 0.5 and 10 keV. Instilled within the solar-wind plasma is the interplanetary magnetic field.

If the dog holds it's breath the heat wave would burn it's head but not outrightly because the breath has ceased for some seconds and it can't absorb the much heat of the solar wind into it's nostrils. The effect of holding its breath would still be disastrous but not as the first case.