Plasma is one of the four common states of matter, and it is essentially an electrified gas. The Sun is mostly plasma, and it is an almost entirely ionized ball of plasma consisting of electrons and ions, in which there is hardly any gas (neutral atoms) . The atoms in the Sun are nearly completely ionized into hydrogen ions and helium ions, which are quite different from gaseous atoms and behave differently.
The plasma in the Sun produces strong magnetic fields and corresponding electric currents. The structure of the Sun is thought to include the core, the radiative zone, the convection zone, the photosphere (visible surface), and its atmosphere comprising of five main zones: the temperature minimum, the chromosphere, the transition region, the corona, and the heliosphere. Sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections are also associated with the Sun.
Scientists have identified the plasma in the Suns outer atmosphere, the corona, as the source of high-energy particles that can affect delicate satellite technology, astronauts, and even aircraft flying over the North Pole. The plasma in the Suns outer atmosphere is a highly turbulent sea of stripped atoms (ions) and electrons, and it generates high-energy particles.
In a new model, a thin layer of magnetic flux and plasma, or free-floating electrons, moves at different speeds on different parts of the Sun, and it explains sunspots, magnetic reversals, and solar flow. The model shows that a thin layer beneath the Suns surface is key to many of the features we see from Earth, and it is backed up by comparisons with observations of the Sun.
