# If a star were to suddenly lose nearly all of its stored heat, would it be able to return to its normal state? [closed]

If not, would it be possible to approximate the maximum heat energy a star could lose before the change became irreversible?

## closed as unclear what you're asking by James K, adrianmcmenamin, Conrad Turner, Dean, Sir CumferenceMar 26 '16 at 3:35

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• I'm sorry, but your question doesn't make any sense. I would advise you to read up on stars to see how they work and possibly rephrase your question. – Jack R. Woods Mar 24 '16 at 23:06

One way to see this, is to compare the current thermal content of a star with its capacity for generating new heat by nuclear reactions. e.g. approximate the Sun as a uniform ball of ideal gas at an average temperature of a few million degrees. The thermal content is roughly $10^{41}$ J. The Sun generates this much energy in nuclear reactions in only 8 million years - coinciding with the timescale to reestablish an equilibrium. Or you could compare it with the gravitational potential energy of around $2\times 10^{41}$ J. i.e. There is enough gravitational potential energy to reheat the Sun.