White dwarfs

[charlie85]

Alrite. im currently trying to write a essay on the structure and evolution of white dwarfs but can't really find any decent websites on this topic. anyone know of any reliable sources of info? i have four books on the topic but all seem to differ from each other when it comes to the actual equations. cheers for any help

[SpaceTiger]

i have four books on the topic but all seem to differ from each other when it comes to the actual equations.

Can you be more specific? I'm curious about how they differ from one another, as it may just be a different formalism. If so, we may be able to explain it for you.

[Chronos]

The basic mechanism is pretty simple. When a star exhausts its fuel supply, gravity takes over and compresses it to the greatest density permitted. For just about any star less than 1.4 solar masses, this is the electron degeneracy limit [very dense]. Here is one link, try a search using 'white dwarf evolution' for more [lots more]:
http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/physics/astronomy/as102-spr00/web_pages/web8.html