Editing Radiative zone (section)

{{Short description|Region of a star}}

A '''radiative zone''' is a layer of a star's interior where energy is primarily transported toward the exterior by means of [[radiation|radiative diffusion]] and [[thermal conduction]], rather than by [[convection]].<ref name=ryan_norton2010/> Energy travels through the radiative zone in the form of [[electromagnetic radiation]] as [[photon]]s.

Matter in a radiative zone is so dense that photons can travel only a short distance before they are absorbed or scattered by another particle, gradually shifting to longer wavelength as they do so. For this reason, it takes an average of 171,000 years for [[gamma ray]]s from the core of the Sun to leave the radiative zone. Over this range, the temperature of the plasma drops from 15 million K near the core down to 1.5 million K at the base of the convection zone.<ref name=elkins_tanton2006/>