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Astronomy and Cosmology
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Process of a sun changing into a white dwarf
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[QUOTE="WernerQH, post: 6568817, member: 686891"] That had puzzled me too for a long time. An argument that I found plausible is that helium burning can proceed much faster than hydrogen burning, once high enough temperatures have been reached. Of the four protons that eventually make up a helium nucleus, two must be converted to neutrons, and that involves the weak interaction. The p-p process is an extremely slow process. The triple-alpha can proceed comparatively swiftly, once the necessary temperature has been reached. The energy yield per reaction is lower, but there will be more reactions, and the total energy production much higher. As Bandersnatch has explained, stability requires that the star expands, and it gets rid of the energy via a vastly expanded surface area. [/QUOTE]
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Astronomy and Cosmology
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Process of a sun changing into a white dwarf
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