White Dwarf Popular Books

White Dwarf Biography & Facts

A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to Earth's. A white dwarf's low luminosity comes from the emission of residual thermal energy; no fusion takes place in a white dwarf. The nearest known white dwarf is Sirius B, at 8.6 light years, the smaller component of the Sirius binary star. There are currently thought to be eight white dwarfs among the hundred star systems nearest the Sun. The unusual faintness of white dwarfs was first recognized in 1910.: 1  The name white dwarf was coined by Willem Luyten in 1922. White dwarfs are thought to be the final evolutionary state of stars whose mass is not high enough to become a neutron star or black hole. This includes over 97% of the stars in the Milky Way.: §1  After the hydrogen-fusing period of a main-sequence star of low or medium mass ends, such a star will expand to a red giant during which it fuses helium to carbon and oxygen in its core by the triple-alpha process. If a red giant has insufficient mass to generate the core temperatures required to fuse carbon (around 1 billion K), an inert mass of carbon and oxygen will build up at its center. After such a star sheds its outer layers and forms a planetary nebula, it will leave behind a core, which is the remnant white dwarf. Usually, white dwarfs are composed of carbon and oxygen (CO white dwarf). If the mass of the progenitor is between 7 and 9 solar masses (M☉), the core temperature will be sufficient to fuse carbon but not neon, in which case an oxygen–neon–magnesium (ONeMg or ONe) white dwarf may form. Stars of very low mass will be unable to fuse helium; hence, a helium white dwarf may form by mass loss in binary systems. The material in a white dwarf no longer undergoes fusion reactions, so the star has no source of energy. As a result, it cannot support itself by the heat generated by fusion against gravitational collapse, but is supported only by electron degeneracy pressure, causing it to be extremely dense. The physics of degeneracy yields a maximum mass for a non-rotating white dwarf, the Chandrasekhar limit — approximately 1.44 times M☉ — beyond which it cannot be supported by electron degeneracy pressure. A carbon–oxygen white dwarf that approaches this mass limit, typically by mass transfer from a companion star, may explode as a type Ia supernova via a process known as carbon detonation; SN 1006 is thought to be a famous example. A white dwarf is very hot when it forms, but because it has no source of energy, it will gradually cool as it radiates its energy away. This means that its radiation, which initially has a high color temperature, will lessen and redden with time. Over a very long time, a white dwarf will cool and its material will begin to crystallize, starting with the core. The star's low temperature means it will no longer emit significant heat or light, and it will become a cold black dwarf. Because the length of time it takes for a white dwarf to reach this state is calculated to be longer than the current age of the known universe (approximately 13.8 billion years), it is thought that no black dwarfs yet exist. The oldest known white dwarfs still radiate at temperatures of a few thousand kelvins, which establishes an observational limit on the maximum possible age of the universe. Discovery The first white dwarf discovered was in the triple star system of 40 Eridani, which contains the relatively bright main sequence star 40 Eridani A, orbited at a distance by the closer binary system of the white dwarf 40 Eridani B and the main sequence red dwarf 40 Eridani C. The pair 40 Eridani B/C was discovered by William Herschel on 31 January 1783. In 1910, Henry Norris Russell, Edward Charles Pickering and Williamina Fleming discovered that, despite being a dim star, 40 Eridani B was of spectral type A, or white. In 1939, Russell looked back on the discovery:: 1  I was visiting my friend and generous benefactor, Prof. Edward C. Pickering. With characteristic kindness, he had volunteered to have the spectra observed for all the stars – including comparison stars – which had been observed in the observations for stellar parallax which Hinks and I made at Cambridge, and I discussed. This piece of apparently routine work proved very fruitful – it led to the discovery that all the stars of very faint absolute magnitude were of spectral class M. In conversation on this subject (as I recall it), I asked Pickering about certain other faint stars, not on my list, mentioning in particular 40 Eridani B. Characteristically, he sent a note to the Observatory office and before long the answer came (I think from Mrs. Fleming) that the spectrum of this star was A. I knew enough about it, even in these paleozoic days, to realize at once that there was an extreme inconsistency between what we would then have called "possible" values of the surface brightness and density. I must have shown that I was not only puzzled but crestfallen, at this exception to what looked like a very pretty rule of stellar characteristics; but Pickering smiled upon me, and said: "It is just these exceptions that lead to an advance in our knowledge", and so the white dwarfs entered the realm of study! The spectral type of 40 Eridani B was officially described in 1914 by Walter Adams.The white dwarf companion of Sirius, Sirius B, was next to be discovered. During the nineteenth century, positional measurements of some stars became precise enough to measure small changes in their location. Friedrich Bessel used position measurements to determine that the stars Sirius (α Canis Majoris) and Procyon (α Canis Minoris) were changing their positions periodically. In 1844 he predicted that both stars had unseen companions: If we were to regard Sirius and Procyon as double stars, the change of their motions would not surprise us; we should acknowledge them as necessary, and have only to investigate their amount by observation. But light is no real property of mass. The existence of numberless visible stars can prove nothing against the existence of numberless invisible ones. Bessel roughly estimated the period of the companion of Sirius to be about half a century; C.A.F. Peters computed an orbit for it in 1851. It was not until 31 January 1862 that Alvan Graham Clark observed a previously unseen star close to Sirius, later identified as the predicted companion. Walter Adams announced in 1915 that he had found the spectrum of Sirius B to be similar to that of Sirius.In 1917, Adriaan van Maanen discovered van Maanen's Star, an isolated white dwarf. These three white dwarfs, the first discovered, are the so-called classical white dwarfs.: 2  Eventually, many faint white stars were found which had high proper motion, indicating that they could be suspected to be low-luminosity stars close to the Earth, and hence white dwarfs. Willem Luyten appears to have.... Discover the White Dwarf popular books. Find the top 100 most popular White Dwarf books.

Best Seller White Dwarf Books of 2024

  • Snow White and the Seventy-Seven Dwarfs synopsis, comments

    Snow White and the Seventy-Seven Dwarfs

    Davide Cali & Raphaelle Barbanegre

    Snow White is on the run from an evil witch when she comes across some dwarfs in the forest. They agree to take her in and keep her safe if she will help them with their chores. Sh...

  • Fairytale Cooking synopsis, comments

    Fairytale Cooking

    Alexander Höss-Knakal & Melina Kutelas

    Rediscover your favorite childhood fairytales through these delightful and exquisite feasts! Fairytales become classics, passed down for hundreds of years, not only because of the ...

  • The Magic Mirror and the Seventh Dwarf synopsis, comments

    The Magic Mirror and the Seventh Dwarf

    Tia Nevitt

    Book two in Accidental Enchantments.Prince Richard is cursed. Enslaved to a magic mirror, he must truthfully answer the evil queen when she uses it to call on him. To keep from bet...

  • Beyond the Burning Lands synopsis, comments

    Beyond the Burning Lands

    John Christopher

    Luke encounters rage, treachery, and revenge in the second book in the postapocalyptic Sword of the Spirits trilogy from the author of The Tripods series.As the Prince in Waiting, ...

  • Beanstalker and Other Hilarious Scarytales synopsis, comments

    Beanstalker and Other Hilarious Scarytales

    Kiersten White

    Kiersten White, the author of the NYT bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, is ready to make her middle grade debut!Once upon a time, a girl skipped into the forest and became a zombie...

  • The Prince in Waiting synopsis, comments

    The Prince in Waiting

    John Christopher

    A thirteenyearold’s expectations of royalty give way to adventure in the first book in the postapocalyptic Sword of the Spirits trilogy from the author of The Tripods series.In Win...

  • The Lost Book of the Grail synopsis, comments

    The Lost Book of the Grail

    Caitlin Matthews & John Matthews

    Reveals the longforgotten prequel to the Grail mythos and how it has profound resonance with modern times Includes the complete text of the Grail prequel, The Elucidation of the G...

  • White As Snow synopsis, comments

    White As Snow

    Tanith Lee

    Once upon a time there was a mirror. . . .So begins this dark, unusual retelling of the story of Snow White by the writer reviewers have called "the Angela Carter of the fantasy fi...

  • Snow White at the Dwarf Colony synopsis, comments

    Snow White at the Dwarf Colony

    Joseph Burgo

    In this novellalength retelling of the classic fairy tale, the wicked queen is Snow White's actual mother and the dwarfs are little people rather than cute Disneyesque caricatures....

  • Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf synopsis, comments

    Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf

    Cheryl Sterling

    In the debut book of The Enchanted Series, Cheryl Sterling follows a commoner in pursuit of a better future and a royal fighting for her place.Marked for death by her stepmother’s ...

  • Brick Fairy Tales synopsis, comments

    Brick Fairy Tales

    John Mccann, Monica Sweeney & Becky Thomas

    Enter the magical world of fairy tales retold through LEGO bricks! Filled with creative and whimsical settings built from this universally celebrated toy, this book presents an all...

  • Snow White synopsis, comments

    Snow White

    Sarah Gibb

    A beautifully illustrated, magical retelling of one of the most beloved children’s fairy tales.Jealous of her beauty, Snow White’s stepmother sends her to the forest, never to retu...

  • White Dwarf Atmospheres and Circumstellar Environments synopsis, comments

    White Dwarf Atmospheres and Circumstellar Environments

    Donald W. Hoard

    Written by selected astronomers at the forefront of their fields, this timely and novel book compiles the latest results from research on white dwarf stars, complementing existing ...

  • The Sword of the Spirits synopsis, comments

    The Sword of the Spirits

    John Christopher

    The fate of Lukeand the civilized worldis at stake in the tumultuous and explosive conclusion to the postapocalyptic Sword of the Spirits trilogy from the author of The Tripods ser...

  • Unlocking the Secrets of White Dwarf Stars synopsis, comments

    Unlocking the Secrets of White Dwarf Stars

    Hugh M. Van Horn

    White dwarfs, each containing about as much mass as our Sun but packed into a volume about the size of Earth, are the endpoints of evolution for most stars. Thousands of these fain...

  • Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf synopsis, comments

    Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf

    Cheryl Sterling

    Marked for death by her stepmother’s manic jealousy, Princess Snow White of Enchanted narrowly escapes the huntsman’s ax. Plunged into a treacherous blizzard, she stumbles across a...

  • Suzaku Studies of White Dwarf Stars and the Galactic X-ray Background Emission synopsis, comments

    Suzaku Studies of White Dwarf Stars and the Galactic X-ray Background Emission

    Takayuki Yuasa

    This thesis presents a study of the origin of an apparently extended Xray emission associated with the Galactic ridge. The study was carried out with broadband spectra obtained fro...