Thanks for the welcome!
I've been encouraged to "ask away", so here we go. 
I'm currently confused about the Chandrasekhar limit.
(note: I am always confused about something.)
I've read and understood the concept, so no problem there; but I suspect that perhaps I've only been spoon-fed a basic definition/explanation, thus making it incomplete and therefore confusing.
I've been lead to believe that our sun, while huge compared to Earth, is a relatively small object in the universe.
I've seen the videos floating around, that show the earth's size compared to other object in the universe. Sirius A, for example is way bigger and certainly appears to be more than 1.4 time the mass of our sun. Beyond that they have Pollux, Arcturus, Aldebaran, Rigel... and so on, each bigger than the previous.
video:
So my question is:
How does the Chandrasekhar limit apply (or not?) to these giants?
0
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3 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.The Chandrasekhar limit is only about stable white dwarf stars.
Hathacat
Level 9
Oct 25, 2018
3
Ah - ok. Thank you!
I suspected that there must be some caveat or limitation of which I was unaware.
That's one of the problems with learning from talks, podcasts and the like; they're limited on time and so tend to only mention what they think is important; often generalising for the sake of brevity.
Unfortunately, inquiring minds want to know more...
Thanks again.
Cheer.
The chandrasekhar limit applies to a post-supernova star. Specifically, after a supernova, if the remaining body is larger than 1.4 solar masses it will become a black hole due to collapse force. Massive stars leave behind small bodies after they go supernova.
CtoJustinC
Level 5
Oct 25, 2018
0
Yes, this exercise is mind blowing when it comes to the size of the universe. I don't think out minds can even comprehend it.
I saw this video several years ago that deals with size and dimension in space. It's very good, narrated by Morgan Freeman.
ballou
Level 8
Oct 25, 2018
2
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