3 ms·
Wow. In my memory, it was the pressure from the hot gases that kept a star from collapsing on itself. I did not know it was light pressure! Is this a typo in th
by kghose 12y ago
Wow. In my memory, it was the pressure from the hot gases that kept a star from collapsing on itself. I did not know it was light pressure! Is this a typo in the article, or is it really light pressure holding up stars?
- avar 12y agoMore specifically radiation pressure, not all of it is visible light. Some quick searching turns up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_pressure#Stellar_interiors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_pressure#Stellar_inte... and http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~george/ay20/Ay20-Lec7x.pdf http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~george/ay20/Ay20-Lec7x.pdf
- kghose 12y agoAnd, from the wikipedia article: "In the Sun, radiation pressure is still quite small when compared to the gas pressure. In the heaviest non-degenerate stars, radiation pressure is the dominant pressure component"