Abstract

This paper is presented in two sections. The first is a tutorial description of the Electric Sun model developed and presented in 1979 by engineer Ralph Juergens. This model explains in detail why the solar corona exists, the causes of the Sun's anomalous temperature profile, the nature and function of the ?spicules? that erupt through the chromosphere, and the fact that the photospheric granules limit the outflow of ions from the solar surface. This tutorial will cover only the important points of that model. The second section of this paper presents, for the first time, the concept of the ?Electronic sun?. This is an extension of Juergens' hypothesis that explores the transistor-like behavior of the charge layers that sheath the solar surface. This mechanism explains why coronal hot spots appear above sunspots, why the corona changes shape from times of the active sun to times of the quiet sun, what mechanism controls both the flow rate and the initial velocity of the solar wind, and how the solar wind can be cutoff by this mechanism.