Can one survive without sunlight?

Now if the sun somehow just ‘disappears’, can we survive without its rays?

Asker: Alvaro, 12 years old

Answer

No, and there are a lot of reasons for that.

As a biologist, I immediately think of two that could be important.
For example, vitamin D mainly comes from sunlight. Without that vitamin D, your bones will be much less strong, but many organs such as your stomach will also work much less well.

But more importantly, plants need sunlight to grow. Plants use sunlight to convert CO2 into energy (carbohydrates). Plants form the basis of the food chain. In one way or another, almost all animals depend on plants for survival. You have herbivorous animals that eat the plates and you have carnivorous animals that eat the herbivorous animals. But without the sunlight no plants and without plants no animals….and therefore no people.

Answered by

dr. Anton Van de Putte

Antarctic Biodiversity

Can one survive without sunlight?

Catholic University of Leuven
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/

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