Advertisement
Advertisement
Chandrasekhar limit
[ shahn-druh-sey-kahr ]
noun
- the mass limit above which a star has too much mass to become a white dwarf after gravitational collapse, approximately 1.44 solar masses.
Chandrasekhar limit
noun
- astronomy the upper limit to the mass of a white dwarf, equal to 1.44 solar masses. A star having a mass above this limit will continue to collapse to form a neutron star
Chandrasekhar limit
- The maximum size of a stable white dwarf, approximately 3 × 10 30 kg (about 1.4 times the mass of the Sun). Stars with mass higher than the Chandrasekhar limit ultimately collapse under their own weight and become neutron stars or black holes. Stars with a mass below this limit are prevented from collapsing by the degeneracy pressure of their electrons.
- See more at degeneracy pressure
Word History and Origins
Origin of Chandrasekhar limit1
Word History and Origins
Origin of Chandrasekhar limit1
Example Sentences
Above this Chandrasekhar limit a star’s gravity will pull on itself so strongly that electrons can’t stop its collapse.
Further calculations showed that when collapsing stars are a little more massive than the Chandrasekhar limit, the pressure of the resulting neutrons—similar to the pressure of electrons—can stave off collapse for a little while; this is what happens in a neutron star.
But then his size was bloated immensely by the false premises of "The Apprentice" and his notoriety then began to reach — let's say, for the purposes of the metaphor — the "Chandrasekhar limit," the point at which a cold star can no longer support itself.
At that threshold, known as the Chandrasekhar limit, theorists predict the pressure inside will cause electrons and protons to fuse into neutrons, and the white dwarf will quietly collapse into a neutron star.
Just short of the Chandrasekhar limit, at about 1.4 solar masses, the density and temperature of the core shoot up.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse