What process causes the iron core to shrink into a city-sized object?
Answer
Electrons are forced into protons to form neutrons
When an iron core reaches critical density, the inward pressure of gravity overwhelms the structural integrity of the matter. This causes a phenomenon known as electron degeneracy failure, where electrons are crushed into protons to create neutrons. This release of neutrinos, called neutronization, happens in a fraction of a second, causing the core to undergo a massive, sudden shrinkage to a diameter of roughly 10 to 20 kilometers.
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