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that takes into account its distance from the Earth (determined from its
parallax, the apparent displacement seen from different positions as the Earth
orbits the Sun), or alternatively luminosity, the total amount of radiation
emitted, expressed as a multiple of that of the Sun. The Sun, being a fairly
typical star, falls near the center of the diagram, with luminosity = 1,
absolute magnitude =
5, spectral class G, and (photospheric) temperature = 6,000 degrees K.
The conventional interpretation, premised on the assumption that stars are
driven by hydrogen-helium fusion, is that they evolve through various stages
of burning as they use up their fuel, in the process slowly migrating from one
part of the H-R diagram to another over spans of hundreds of thousands of
years.
Initially, a cloud of gas and dust coalesces under gravitation, and when
thermonuclear ignition is reached,
takes its place in the main sequence, where it enters the major portion of its
stable life. This is where the majority of stars are found. Eventually, the
helium "ash" accumulating at the core necessitates internal structural
readjustment for burning to continue. This results in expansion and increase
of luminosity, taking the star into its giant phase. Its time here is
typically much shorter than on the main sequence and lasts until the helium
core collapses under its own weight. This initiates higher temperatures, which
enable first the helium itself to begin burning into heavier elements, and
then, in turn, carbon, oxygen, and so through to iron. As mentioned earlier,
elements beyond iron can't be produced by regular thermonuclear fusion.
What happens finally depends on the star's original mass. As the thermonuclear
burning process ends, gravitational collapse resumes, transforming the
majority of stars into white dwarfs, which eventually die and stabilize as
black dwarfs. In more massive stars, however, ordinary matter is unable to
resist continuing collapse, and breaks down structurally into superdense
forms, yielding such exotic objects as neutron stars and black holes. Since
humans have not been around long enough to actually observe any of these slow
migrations, this part of the conventionally accepted picture remains a
theoretical construct.
In the electrical star model that we have been discussing, the most important
variable is current density
(amperes per square meter) at the effective anode surface the photosphere. As
current density increases, the arc discharges (anode tufts, granules) get
hotter, change color from red toward blue, and grow brighter. So let's add
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"surface current density" as an additional axis across the bottom, increasing
from right to left.
On the lower right of the diagram, the current density is so low that the
secondary plasma tufting that produces arcs is not needed. This is the region
where we find the brown and red dwarf stars and giant gas planets, and larger
cool stars characterized by their visible chromospheric glow. The plasma is in
the low-intensity anode glow range, or in the case of a large gas planet, the
"dark current" radio-emitting range. (The Establishment were outraged when
Velikovsky's prediction that Jupiter should show radio emissions, which they
had ridiculed, turned out to be correct.)
Moving leftward and upward brings us to a region where some arc tufting
becomes necessary to carry the discharge current. We mentioned that this is a
dynamic structure, able to adjust to fluctuating conditions. The discovery of
an X-ray flare being emitted by a brown dwarf (spectral class M9, very cool)
by the
Chandra orbiting X-ray telescope posed a problem for the fusion model, since a
star that cool shouldn't produce X-ray flares. But the appearance of an anode
tuft in response to a slight change in total current is a normal feature of
the electrical explanation. A strong electrical field is associated with the
tuft-shield region, and strong electric fields are the easiest way to produce
X-rays.
With increasing current density, arcing covers more of the star's surface.
Plasma arcs are extremely bright compared to plasma in its normal glow range,
and luminosity increases sharply, consistent with the steepness of the main
H-R band curve in this region. Not long ago, NASA reported the discovery of a
star with half its surface "covered by a sunspot." This corresponds to a star
where half the surface area comprises photospheric arcing. It could be viewed
as a link in the continuum from gas giant planets and brown dwarfs to fully
tufted stars.
Stars beyond the "knee of the curve" have fully tufted (granulated)
photospheres. These get brighter with increasing current density but without
adding significantly to the tufted area, and so luminosity grows less
rapidly winding up the current of existing arcs, but no longer adding more
arcs. (Note: The progression from right to left is not following the evolution
of one star in time, in the manner of the conventional interpretation. We are
simply cataloging the different appearances of different stars, depending on
their electrical environment and size like the displays of different villages,
towns, and cities seen from the air at night.)
At the upper left end of the main sequence lies the region of hot, blue-white,
O types, with surface temperatures of 35,000 degrees K and more. Stars here
are under extreme electrical stress at the limit of the current density they
can absorb. The suggestion here is that extreme electrical stress can lead to
a star's increasing its available area by fissioning into parts, perhaps
explosively. Such explosions constitute what are called novas.
Recall what we said earlier about internal electrical repulsive forces
opposing gravitational collapse and creating a star of uniform density rather
than a self-compressing mass growing enormously dense toward the core. Such a
uniform density maintained by repulsive internal forces would facilitate
fissioning under unstable conditions. The drop in current density accompanying
the increase in surface area would now indeed shift both the resultant bodies
to new positions rightward on the H-R diagram. For resultant stars of equal
size, the current density on each would reduce to 80 percent of its previous
value. If the objects were of different size, the larger would have the larger
current density though still less than the original value. Current density on
the smaller member of the pair might fall to a sufficiently low value to turn
arc tufting off, dropping it back abruptly to brown dwarf or even giant planet
status.
This would explain why it is so common for stars to have partners, and why so
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