SOLAR ENERGY IN LIVE IN TERMS OF PHYSICS AND HINDUISM

Introduction

Since the outbreak of the corona virus in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019 and began to plague Indonesia in early 2020, many suggestions have been made by the government to reduce the spread of this virus. The suggestions are adapting a healthy life, wearing masks when going out, doing social distancing, avoiding crowds, not touching face, washing hands with soap and water, and sunbathing for about 15 minutes between 10:00 to 11:00 in the morning. Specifically regarding the last suggestion, it is important to do by the community because there is a belief that sunlight can kill the corona virus. Although there are still those who doubt this recommendation because the Covid-19 outbreak continues to spread very fiercely in the Middle East region, even though the sun is shining very hot in this region.

Scientific explanation about benefits of sunlight to eliminate the corona virus has been discussed in several articles on the internet. Some scientific articles explain that direct sun exposure can stimulate the production of vitamin D, which is important in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from food. In addition, the content of vitamin D that is formed due to sun exposure can help prevent infections in the body and fight diseases, such as heart disease, multiple sclerosis, several types of autoimmune diseases and cancer, and flu.

The scientific explanation seems to illustrate that no one doubts the importance of the sun in life. It can even be said that life would never exist if there were no sun. Based on a description of the role of the sun in life, this paper also aims to discuss the significance of the sun from the point of view of physics and Hinduism, although these two points of view may not have a significant relationship. From the standpoint of Physics, we will discuss how the sun's process of producing light is so meaningful to life. While from the perspective of Hinduism will be discussed how the importance of the sun for the survival of humans and other living creatures.

Discussion

The sun is the center of the solar system where the earth and other planets circulate around it according to different paths and periods. The sun is about 150 million kilometers from the earth and has a size of about 1 million times larger than the size of the earth. At that distance, the sun emits radiation, or more commonly known as sunlight. Solar radiation is a very surprising and extraordinary natural phenomenon. It provides light and heat and is a major source for the visual senses of living things. Even though the sun has been circulating for years, the sun still shines and does not run out of energy sources.

This extraordinary phenomenon also encourages all physics scientists to understand the main principles of energy production in the sun and obtain qualitative data to find out what factors make the sun have that much energy. The sun needs a very large energy source so that radiation can occur. This can be proven by the sunlight received by the earth every second. If we count from the initial formation until now, the sun has been radiating for billions of years. This is certainly concrete evidence that the sun has a very large amount of energy sources. However, only a few people understand what this energy source is like and where it comes from.

Modern astrophysics has succeeded in solving almost all of these questions. The term is almost used because there is a clear difference between neutrino flow in the sun based on assumptions and based on what results from observations. There are good reasons to make this difference disappear. As with existing theories, the exact calculation of light, size, age of the sun and so on is too complicated and long, and it is difficult for people who do not explore the field to recognize the contents and relationships.

Theoretical Physics states that the sun emits nearly 4x1026 Joules of energy every second. This energy is obtained from the combustion of 13.2 x 1057 protons or equal to 1.7 billion hydrogen atoms which is 1 per 1018 of the mass of the sun. Burning a hydrogen atom called a thermonuclear reaction produces energy of 92x1027 Joules. Some of this energy is used to keep the sun cool; an anomaly that has been scientifically proven. The results of the analysis of the spectrum of sunlight show that the temperature on the surface of the sun around 6000 degrees Celsius, while through complex calculations obtained that the temperature at the center of the sun around 12 million degrees Celsius.

Based on the amount of energy emitted by the sun, and assuming that the sun will continue to shine until its mass remains a third, it can be estimated that the sun's lifespan is close to 10 billion years. Meanwhile, by using radioactive dating, it is known that the earth's age has reached around 4.5 billion years. So the sun already existed and shined long before the earth was formed and played a role in the formation of the earth and other planets in the solar system. Manifesting a ball of gas consisting of hydrogen and helium (11%) with a mass of nearly one million times the mass of the earth, the sun is believed to still shine for a very long time in the order of tens or even billions of years.

This fact clearly shows how powerful solar energy is when discussed with physics. In addition to using this field of science, the importance of the sun can also be assessed using theories in Hinduism. Then, how do Hindus view the sun or better known as Surya?

The sun or solar in Hinduism occupies a very important and sacred position. This can be seen in every religious process, from the holy place to the worship process in each of the religious ceremonies. Almost certainly in every procession of religious ceremonies, there is a pelinggih or place of worship used. Pelinggih is very diverse, ranging from the simplest form, namely made from turus lumbung, to those made of bata paras. Likewise for pelinggih Surya, it is almost certain that there will always be for every process of religious ceremonies, even when the other pelinggih is not there. For example in the Ngaben ceremony, there are only Pelinggih Surya that is made from bamboo. While other pelinggih can be in the form of food and one is enough.

Pelinggih Surya certainly exists in every holy place of Hinduism, both in the family temple to Pura Kahyangan, and occupies the most purified area in the northeast direction. The process of praying in Hinduism also always starts with praying to the sun. This is inseparable from the Hindu mythology that says that Surya is the smartest god. Ida Betara Siwa also allowed adding his name, so that Surya was also known as Shiva Raditya. In the mantra to the sun it is stated: om adityasyaparamjyoti rakta teja namostute sweta pankaja madhyasta bhaskaraya namostute om hrang hring sah parama siwa aditya ya namah swaha. Which means: Oh Hyang Widhi Dewa Surya is the main giver of happiness and perfection. You glow red, I adore You. Stand in the middle with your white light. I adore You, Hyang Surya.

There is another interesting thing about the Sun. In Hindu, there is a leadership concept that known as Asta Brata which means eight behaviors or actions that must be owned by a leader. One of the eight brata is Surya Brata, which means a leader must be able to make his people live and move, should get energy from the sun that allows living things to grow and develop. Leaders can provide energy in the form of vision, goals, and reasons for each decision. The leader should also give like the sun: continuously until he does not realize that he has done much for others.

The charge of eliminating all kind of disease is reflected in Baruna Brata. Dewa Baruna is the god of the sea. This brata states that the sea can absorb all impurities and purify them again through the process of evaporation which then falls as rain. This behavior is expected to be reflected in a leader, a leader need to have an attitude of receiving input from all elements of society before making a decision, as well as the sea that receives water and all the impurities that come to it.

Conclusion

From all of the above discussion, it can be concluded from the perspective of physics that the sun has a very complicated process to produce light which is very beneficial for life. The sun has also been very long and it will take a very long time to shine on and give life to the earth. Meanwhile, from the perspective of Hinduism, the nature of the sun must be reflected in a leader who can always motivate his people to keep working optimally in any situation, including in the current Covid-19 pandemic situation.