If space is devoid of oxygen, how does the sun burn?


Strictly speaking, the sun does not burn. At least, not the way that, say, a wick on a candle does. The small fires we're all familiar with are created by a chemical reaction betweena fuel, such as oil or coal, and oxygen. The sun's writhing surface is the result of "a nuclear reaction that fuses hydrogen to form helium," saus Jerald Navratil, a physicist at Columbia University.