Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan (s
b'rəmän`yən chŭn'drəsā`kər), 1910–95, American astrophysicist, b. Lahore, India (now Pakistan). He became a professor at the Univ. of Chicago in 1938 and remained associated with the university until his death. In 1953 he became an American citizen. Chandrasekhar was a major figure in the research on energy transfer by radiation in stellar atmospheres. He determined the Chandrasekhar limit, which states that stars 1.44 times as massive as the sun will collapse and become neutron stars neutron star, extremely small, extremely dense star, about double the sun's mass but only a few kilometers in radius, in the final stage of stellar evolution . Astronomers Baade and Zwicky predicted the existence of neutron stars in 1933.
..... Click the link for more information. . In 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics with William A. Fowler Fowler, William Alfred, 1911–95, American nuclear astrophysicist, b. Pittsburgh. While a professor at the California Institute of Technology, Fowler studied how chemical elements are formed in nuclear reactions, especially in the evolution of stars.
..... Click the link for more information. for their theories regarding the evolution of massive stars. Chandrasekhar's work advanced the understanding of black holes black hole, in astronomy, celestial object of such extremely intense gravity that it attracts everything near it and in some instances prevents everything, including light, from escaping.
..... Click the link for more information. , supernovas supernova, a massive star in the latter stages of stellar evolution that suddenly contracts and then explodes, increasing its energy output as much as a billionfold.
..... Click the link for more information. , and neutron stars. His books include An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (1939), Principles of Stellar Dynamics (1943), Radiative Transfer (1950), and The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes (1983).
Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan (1910– ) astrophysicist; born in Lahore, India (now Pakistan). As a fellow at Trinity, Cambridge University (1933–37), he developed his theory of white dwarfs, "collapsed" stars of enormous density, such that their mass does not exceed 1.4 times the mass of the sun (the Chandrasekhar limit). Since such a small, dense body allows no radiation to escape, Chandrasekhar's theory predicted the existence of what are now known as "black holes." When his ideas were publicly derided by the respected English physicist Arthur Eddington, the distraught Chandrasekhar emigrated to the University of Chicago (1937), and remained there until his retirement (1980). His theory was vindicated, and he continued his research on relativistic astrophysics, winning the 1983 Nobel Prize for his contribution to knowledge of evolution of the stars.
b'rəmän`yən chŭn'drəsā`kər), 1910–95, American astrophysicist, b. Lahore, India (now Pakistan). He became a professor at the Univ. of Chicago in 1938 and remained associated with the university until his death. In 1953 he became an American citizen. Chandrasekhar was a major figure in the research on energy transfer by radiation in stellar atmospheres. He determined the Chandrasekhar limit, which states that stars 1.44 times as massive as the sun will collapse and become neutron stars neutron star, extremely small, extremely dense star, about double the sun's mass but only a few kilometers in radius, in the final stage of stellar evolution . Astronomers Baade and Zwicky predicted the existence of neutron stars in 1933...... Click the link for more information. . In 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics with William A. Fowler Fowler, William Alfred, 1911–95, American nuclear astrophysicist, b. Pittsburgh. While a professor at the California Institute of Technology, Fowler studied how chemical elements are formed in nuclear reactions, especially in the evolution of stars.
..... Click the link for more information. for their theories regarding the evolution of massive stars. Chandrasekhar's work advanced the understanding of black holes black hole, in astronomy, celestial object of such extremely intense gravity that it attracts everything near it and in some instances prevents everything, including light, from escaping.
..... Click the link for more information. , supernovas supernova, a massive star in the latter stages of stellar evolution that suddenly contracts and then explodes, increasing its energy output as much as a billionfold.
..... Click the link for more information. , and neutron stars. His books include An Introduction to the Study of Stellar Structure (1939), Principles of Stellar Dynamics (1943), Radiative Transfer (1950), and The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes (1983).
Bibliography
See A. I. Miller, Empire of the Stars: Obsession, Friendship, and Betrayal in the Quest for Black Holes (2005).
Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan
(born Oct. 19, 1910, Lahore, India—died Aug. 21, 1995, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) Indian-born U.S. astrophysicist. He left the University of Cambridge to join the staff of the University of Chicago in 1938. He determined that, following its red giant phase, a star with a remaining mass greater than 1.4 times that of the Sun (the Chandrasekhar limit) collapses and becomes a neutron star during a supernova explosion. Stellar remnants more massive than about three solar masses collapse even further to become black holes. He shared a 1983 Nobel Prize with William A. Fowler.
Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan (1910– ) astrophysicist; born in Lahore, India (now Pakistan). As a fellow at Trinity, Cambridge University (1933–37), he developed his theory of white dwarfs, "collapsed" stars of enormous density, such that their mass does not exceed 1.4 times the mass of the sun (the Chandrasekhar limit). Since such a small, dense body allows no radiation to escape, Chandrasekhar's theory predicted the existence of what are now known as "black holes." When his ideas were publicly derided by the respected English physicist Arthur Eddington, the distraught Chandrasekhar emigrated to the University of Chicago (1937), and remained there until his retirement (1980). His theory was vindicated, and he continued his research on relativistic astrophysics, winning the 1983 Nobel Prize for his contribution to knowledge of evolution of the stars.
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