Degenerate Stars
After a star has finished generating energy through thermonuclear fusion, it evolves into a more compact, degenerate state. During this process the dimensions of the star are significantly reduced, which can result in a corresponding increase in angular velocity.
Read more about this topic: Stellar Rotation
Famous quotes containing the words degenerate and/or stars:
“In this distribution of functions, the scholar is the delegated intellect. In the right state, he is, Man Thinking. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men’s thinking.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem I had my birth.”
—Sydney Carter (20th century)