Star Corpses

Once Fusion slows down and stops what will happen?

• Gravity wins and brings the matter closer together

• Supernova Explosion

• A black hole forms instantly

• Nobody knows

• Protons and Electrons fuse into Neutrons

Why does a star die?

• Imbalance in radiation pressure v. gravity

• Runs out of fuel to fuse

• A black hole sucks it up

• Planets crash into it

• A supernova explosion blasts it away

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-3

As a star begins to die, why does it get bigger?

• There is less gravity holding the star together so it is able to spread out.

• "Higher element" fusion releases More energy as gravity compresses the star making it hotter.

• Protons and Electrons combining into neutrons releases a lot of energy causing the star to slowly get bigger before it pops like a balloon

• More hydrogen is being fused which releases even more energy making the star bigger

Which of the following is NOT a star corpse

• White Dwarf Star

• Neutron Star

• Black Hole

• Red Dwarf Star

What determines what type of corpse a star will become

• Brightness

• Mass

• Random Chance

• Volume

• Elements that are fused

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-1

What type of star corpse will our sun become?

• White Dwarf

• Brown Dwarf

• Black Hole

• Neutron Star

• Red Dwarf

Approximately how much mass is left over from the sun when it becomes its corpse?

• ~10%

• Less than 1%

• ~50%

• ~99%

• ~33.33%

The sun right now is about 1,000,000 times larger than the Earth Approximately how big would the star corpse be?

• Half the size of the sun

• It won't change size

• About the size of the Earth

• Twice the size of the sun

• There is no "size" when talking about star corpses

What prevents a white dwarf from collapsing?

• Electrons can't be in the same 'state' so they occupy higher energy states creating a pressure pushing outwards

• A white dwarf is made up of neutrons which are held together by the strong force

• We have no idea what prevents the white dwarf from collapsing.

• 'Reverse beta decay' occurs and all electrons and protons collapse into Neutrons

A white dwarf can be through of as...

• A single atom with a giant nucleus and huge electron cloud

• A single atomic nucleus with protons and neutrons hanging out.

• A normal every day star

• Hydrogen and Helium fusing together to form heavier elements