Lecture 19: Extreme Stars: White Dwarfs & Neutron Stars

What happens to the cores left behind at the end of a star's life? This lecture introduces these stellar remnants: White Dwarfs (remnants of low-mass stars held up by Electron Degeneracy Pressure), and Neutron Stars (remnant cores of core-bounce supernovae held up by Neutron Degeneracy Pressure). We also the Chandrasekhar Mass for White Dwarfs, Type Ia Supernovae resulting from a white dwarf getting tipped over the Chandrasekhar Mass, Pulsars (rapidly rotating magnetized neutrons stars), and ask what happens when a neutron star gets tipped over its mass limit. Recorded 2006 January 31 in 1008 Evans Laboratory on the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.