Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,905,632,586 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

Chandrasekhar limit
(redirected from Chandra Limit)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.02 sec.
Chandrasekhar limit [ˌtʃændrəˈsiːkə]
n
(Astronomy) Astronomy the upper limit to the mass of a white dwarf, equal to 1.44 solar masses. A star having a mass above this limit will continue to collapse to form a neutron star
[named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910-95), Indian-born US astronomer, who calculated it]

Chandrasekhar limit
The maximum size of a stable white dwarf, approximately 3 × 1030 kg (about 1.4 times the mass of the Sun). Stars with mass higher than the Chandrasekhar limit ultimately collapse under their own weight and become neutron stars or black holes. Stars with a mass below this limit are prevented from collapsing by the degeneracy pressure of their electrons. See more at degeneracy pressure.


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Add definition
Mentioned in?   Dictionary browser?   Full browser?
 
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.