Final answer:
Photons take thousands of years to reach the surface of the sun due to constant absorption and reemission, but only 8 minutes to travel from the sun to Earth. Neutrinos, however, can pass through the sun quickly and reach Earth almost at the speed of light.
Step-by-step explanation:
The particles that take thousands of years to reach the surface of the sun but only 8 minutes to reach Earth from there are photons. Photons are generated by fusion reactions in the solar interior, but because they are constantly absorbed and reemitted by atoms, their journey from the sun's core to its surface is a long and random one. Estimates suggest that it can take between 100,000 and 1,000,000 years for this energy to travel from the center of the sun to the surface. However, once photons reach the surface of the sun, they take roughly 8 minutes to reach Earth at the speed of light. In contrast, neutrinos, which are also produced in the fusion processes in the sun, interact very little with matter and can traverse straight through the sun, escaping its surface in about 2 seconds and reaching Earth nearly at the speed of light.