PHYSICS

             SOME UNEVEN TOPICS OF PHYSICS                                                     1.CHANDRASEKHAR LIMIT The core of a star that has exhausted its nuclear fuel can end up in different ways depending on its mass. In the case of a star like our sun as a result of gravitational compression, the core is left with protons, with electrons moving around like the molecules of a gas. This electron gas is able to withstand the gravitational force. As a result, a stable equilibrium can be achieved. Such a star is called a white dwarf. White dwarfs are quite different from all the usual stars. The particles of classical gases obey classical mechanics. The particles of quantum gases obey quantum mechanics. Quantum gases help us to understand the behaviour of white dwarfs. Fowler regarded the core of a white dwarf as a Fermi gas. The pressure in such a gas is of quantum mechanical origin. It is called degeneracy pressure an