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SpaceGuy50
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If the proton does not decay, will black dwarfs become iron stars in 10^1500 years>
A black dwarf is a hypothetical stellar remnant, created when a white dwarf becomes sufficiently cool to no longer emit significant heat or light. Since the time required for a white dwarf to reach this state is calculated to be longer than the current age of the universe of 13.7 billion years, no black dwarfs are expected to exist in the universe yet, and the temperature of the coolest white dwarfs is one observational limit on the age of the universe. A white dwarf is what remains of a main sequence star of low or medium mass (below approximately 9 to 10 solar masses), after it has either expelled or fused all the elements which it has sufficient temperature to fuse.[1] What is left is then a dense ball of electron-degenerate matter which cools slowly by thermal radiation, eventually becoming a black dwarf.[2][3] If black dwarfs were to exist, they would be extremely difficult to detect, since, by definition, they would emit very little radiation. One theory is that they might be detectable through their gravitational influence.[4]
SpaceGuy50 said:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_an_expanding_universe
<<In 10^1500 years, cold fusion occurring via quantum tunnelling should make the light nuclei in ordinary matter fuse into iron-56 nuclei (see isotopes of iron.) Fission and alpha-particle emission should make heavy nuclei also decay to iron, leaving stellar-mass objects as cold spheres of iron.[8]>>
From Wikipedia. That is if proton decay doesn't occur. So presumably that would make black dwarfs become iron stars. Those iron stars would then become neutron stars in 10^10^76 years.
ideasrule said:Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but if quantum tunneling can fuse light nuclei into heavier ones, why can it not cause heavier nuclei to break apart into lighter ones?
It is currently theorized that black dwarfs, which are the end stage of a white dwarf star, will not have enough energy or mass to undergo nuclear fusion and become an iron star.
It is estimated that it would take approximately 10^1500 years for a black dwarf to become an iron star, but this is still a theoretical concept and cannot be confirmed.
10^1500 years is an incredibly long time, even in astronomical terms. It is an estimation of the amount of time it would take for a black dwarf to accumulate enough mass and energy to potentially become an iron star.
It is currently unknown if there are other processes or events that could cause a black dwarf to become an iron star. However, it is highly unlikely as black dwarfs are at the end of their lifecycle and do not have the necessary conditions for fusion to occur.
If black dwarfs do not become iron stars, they will continue to cool and fade over an incredibly long period of time until they eventually become cold, dark objects known as black dwarf remnants.