Astronomy & Cosmology
Chandrasekhar limit
1930-1931 CESubrahmanyan ChandrasekharChandrasekhar's papersDiaspora (work abroad)
1930
Showed a white dwarf above ~1.4 solar masses cannot support itself, implying collapse to neutron stars/black holes.
- Dated
- 1930–1931
- As scholars put it
- 1930-1931 CE
- Originator
- Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
- Source text
- Chandrasekhar's papers
- Region
- Diaspora (work abroad)
- Discipline
- Astronomy & Cosmology
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Initially disputed by Arthur Eddington in Britain.
Fair to say
By the India-born (later Indian-American) Chandrasekhar; vindicated after Eddington's opposition; Nobel Prize 1983.
Path to modern innovation
Fundamental to stellar death, supernovae and black-hole formation.
Transmission
Work done by the India-born scientist while moving between Cambridge and the US.
Primary sources
References
- 1Chandrasekhar (1931)
- 2Nobel records
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-134 on GitHub.