Abstract
IT is well known that matter consists of nuclei and electrons. Nevertheless it can be shown that in bodies of very large mass, this usual 'electronic' state of matter can become unstable. The reason for this lies in the fact that the 'electronic' state of matter does not lead to extremely great densities, because at such densities electrons form a Fermi gas having an immense pressure. On the other hand, it is easy to see that matter can go into another state which is much more compressible—the state where all the nuclei and electrons have combined to form neutrons.1 Even if we assume that neutrons repel each other, this repulsion can become appreciable only at densities of the order of magnitude of nuclear densities, that is, 1014 gm./cm.3, and the pressure of a Fermi gas consisting of neutrons is much less than that of an electronic gas of the same density, because of the greater mass of the neutrons.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cf. Hund, F., Erg. d. exakten Natwis. 15, 189 (1936).
Landau, L., Sov. Phys., 1, 285 (1932).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LANDAU, L. Origin of Stellar Energy. Nature 141, 333–334 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/141333b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/141333b0
This article is cited by
-
Formation of Thorne–Żytkow objects in close binaries
Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy (2018)
-
Exploring New Physics Frontiers Through Numerical Relativity
Living Reviews in Relativity (2015)
-
Monotonicity of Quantum Ground State Energies: Bosonic Atoms and Stars
Journal of Statistical Physics (2009)
-
A pulsar inside the Sun?
Radiophysics and Quantum Electronics (1996)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.