Quantum Mechanics - Confinement

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Quantum Mechanics - Confinement The Heisenberg
Uncertainty Principle
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle The
position and momentum of a particle cannot be
precisely specified simultaneously. "Classical
physics seemed the limiting case of visualization
of a fundamentally unvisualizable
microphysics... - Heisenberg
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Quantum Mechanics The Heisenberg Uncertainty
Principle
?x ?p h/2?
What does it mean? If you attempt to confine a
particle into a smaller and smaller space (?x
gets smaller and smaller) the uncertainty in the
momentum gets bigger and bigger
?p h/2? ?x
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The core is a high temperature soup of protons
and electrons, as well as heavier elements
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Quantum Mechanics The Heisenberg Uncertainty
Principle
?p h/2? ?x
?v h/2? m?x
What does it mean? The smaller mass particle
will have the highest uncertainty in the speed,
and therefore the higher uncertainty in kinetic
energy. The smallest mass particles in the core
will be electrons, and as they are confined to a
smaller and smaller core, they will move faster
and faster, thereby producing the pressure that
hold up the core.
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Quantum Mechanics The Heisenberg Uncertainty
Principle
?p h/2? ?x
?v h/2? m?x
Electron degeneracy pressure the pressure
exerted by electrons caused by the confinement in
the small core of a star that has left the main
sequence.
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Quantum Mechanics The Pauli Exclusion Principle
Pauli Exclusion Principle Two electrons cannot
exist in the same state.
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Quantum Mechanics The Pauli Exclusion Principle
Pauli Exclusion Principle Two electrons cannot
exist in the same state.
As the non-burning core collapses, electrons are
forced more and more in to the same state.
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Quantum Mechanics The Pauli Exclusion Principle
Pauli Exclusion Principle Two electrons cannot
exist in the same state.
The Pauli Exclusion Principle will not allow the
core to collapse beyond a certain volume.
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Quantum Mechanics The Pauli Exclusion Principle
Pauli Exclusion Principle Two electrons cannot
exist in the same state.
The Pauli Exclusion Principle is the mechanism
that stops the collapse of the core and is the
mechanism for degeneracy pressure.