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Carbon detonation
 
 
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Carbon detonation is the violent re-ignition of thermonuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion

In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple like-charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus....
 in a dead star
White dwarf

A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. Because a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth, it is very density....
, which produces a Type Ia supernova
Type Ia supernova

File:Main tycho remnant full.jpgA Type Ia supernova is a sub-category of cataclysmic variable stars that results from the violent explosion of a white dwarf star....
. A white dwarf
White dwarf

A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. Because a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth, it is very density....
 undergoes carbon detonation only if it has a normal binary
Binary star

A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star or secondary....
 companion which is close enough to the dwarf star to dump sufficient amounts of matter onto the dwarf, expelled during the process of the companion's own late stage evolution
Stellar evolution

Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only few millions of years to trillions of years , considerably more than the age of the universe....
.

If the companion supplies enough matter to the dead star, the white dwarf's internal pressure and temperature will rise high enough to fuse the previously unfusable carbon
Carbon

Carbon is a chemical element with chemical symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalence?making four electrons available to form covalent bond chemical bonds....
 in the white dwarf's core.






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Carbon detonation is the violent re-ignition of thermonuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion

In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple like-charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus....
 in a dead star
White dwarf

A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. Because a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth, it is very density....
, which produces a Type Ia supernova
Type Ia supernova

File:Main tycho remnant full.jpgA Type Ia supernova is a sub-category of cataclysmic variable stars that results from the violent explosion of a white dwarf star....
. A white dwarf
White dwarf

A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a small star composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. Because a white dwarf's mass is comparable to that of the Sun and its volume is comparable to that of the Earth, it is very density....
 undergoes carbon detonation only if it has a normal binary
Binary star

A binary star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star or secondary....
 companion which is close enough to the dwarf star to dump sufficient amounts of matter onto the dwarf, expelled during the process of the companion's own late stage evolution
Stellar evolution

Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only few millions of years to trillions of years , considerably more than the age of the universe....
.

If the companion supplies enough matter to the dead star, the white dwarf's internal pressure and temperature will rise high enough to fuse the previously unfusable carbon
Carbon

Carbon is a chemical element with chemical symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalence?making four electrons available to form covalent bond chemical bonds....
 in the white dwarf's core. Carbon detonation generally occurs when the accreted matter pushes the white dwarf's mass close to the Chandrasekhar limit
Chandrasekhar limit

The Chandrasekhar limit limits the mass of bodies made from electron-degenerate matter, a dense form of matter which consists of atomic nucleus immersed in a gas of electrons....
 of roughly 1.4 solar masses
Solar mass

The solar mass is a standard way to express mass in astronomy, used to describe the masses of other stars and galaxy. It is equal to the mass of the Sun, about two Names of large numbers kilograms or about 332,950 times the mass of the Earth, or 1,048 times the mass of Jupiter....
.

Computer simulations show that the fusion front proceeds as a series of turbulent, expanding "bubbles" that exhibit Rayleigh–Taylor instability. The turbulence of the unstable fusion front makes it ragged, and the high surface area of the ragged front results in an extremely rapid "burn", known as a "thermonuclear flame". This rapid "burn" erupts explosively through the dwarf star's surface, which is seen as a type Ia supernova.

See also

  • Nuclear fusion
    Nuclear fusion

    In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple like-charged atomic nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus....


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