What Might Happen If a Human Spent a Quick Nanosecond on the Surface of the Sun

As part of their ongoing “What If?” series, Randall Munroe of xkcd and Henry Reich of MinutePhysics looked at what would happen if a human spent a quick nanosecond on the surface of the sun before immediately flashing back to Earth. The short answer is, nothing.

Believe it or not, this wouldn’t even warm you. The temperature of the surface of the Sun is about 5,800 K, give or take. If you stayed there for a while, you’d be cooked to a cinder, but a nanosecond is not very long, it’s enough time for light to travel about a foot.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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