Chandrasekhar limit

[ shahn-druh-sey-kahr ]
/ ˌʃɑn drəˈseɪ kɑr /

noun Astronomy.

the mass limit above which a star has too much mass to become a white dwarf after gravitational collapse, approximately 1.44 solar masses.

Origin of Chandrasekhar limit

1975–80; after U.S. astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (born 1910), who formulated it

British Dictionary definitions for chandrasekhar limit

Chandrasekhar limit

noun

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

Word Origin for Chandrasekhar limit

C20: named after S. Chandrasekhar, who calculated it

Scientific definitions for chandrasekhar limit

Chandrasekhar limit

The maximum size of a stable white dwarf, approximately 3 X 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.