Hacker News Comments on
Astrophysics: The Violent Universe
edX
·
Australian National University
·
1
HN comments
Course Description
HN Academy Rankings
- This course is unranked · view top recommended courses
Provider Info
This course is offered by Australian National University on the
edX platform.
HN Academy may receive a referral commission when you make purchases
on sites after clicking through links on this page. Most courses are
available for free with the option to purchase a completion certificate.
Hacker News Stories and Comments
All the comments and stories posted to Hacker News that reference this url.
⬐
Protons and electrons are both Fermions, which means they can not have identical quantum numbers (have to obey the Pauli exclusion principle as mentioned elsewhere in the thread). In the case of a very dense system, like the sun, this can lead to an effect known as degeneracy pressure (which acts against gravity). Essentially you have filled all the lower quantum numbers and then adding an extra proton/electron to the system requires a certain amount of energy. It's quite handwavy but the degeneracy pressure of electrons is mostly what keeps a white dwarf from contracting, whereas in the case of a neutron star it is the degeneracy pressure of neutrons (plus repulsive strong force and other effects as indicated in the OP). This kind of high level discussion is often covered in first year astronomy courses auditing a MOOC like the following may be of interest (https://www.edx.org/course/astrophysics-the-violent-universe)