Black Holes

[cheerfulgreek]

Originally Posted by epchick

Wouldn't a dwarf star eventually turn into a black hole? Ehhh who knows, i'm not a scientist.

No I didn't take physics, I dropped it after like the 2nd day cause i didn't wanna be a biology major anymore.

Not necessarily. A white dwarf is the final phase in the evolution of stars like our Sun. They go through what scientist call the Red Giant phase before they turn into a dwarf star. If our Sun were to turn into a black hole, Earth along with Mercury, Venus and possibly Mars would be toast during the Red Giant phase, long before a black hole develops. They only form black holes if they collapse in on themselves from heat leaving the star. As the star cools, it gradually becomes more dense, until eventually when the core is around the size of Earth, some kind of chemical electron reaction takes place. I'm not sure what kind but it's something to that effect. Anyway, when this takes place, in some stars the pressure prevents the electrons from getting too close together which prevents any further collapse. If it doesn't turn into a black hole it just won't give off anymore energy.

Lucky you. I had a dual major. Zoology and biology with a minor in chemistry. Unfortunately physics was required for me. I hated it.

What you said about Andromeda M31 was right on though.