In physics, the Eddington Limit is a natural limit to the luminosity that can be radiated by spherically symmetric accretion onto a compact object, like a black hole. It is named in honour of the British physicist Sir Arthur Eddington. Since antiquity, people have tried to understand the behavior of matter: why unsupported objects drop to the ground, why different materials have different properties, and so forth. ... Jump to: navigation, search // In General Physics In general physics, luminosity (more properly called luminance) is the density of luminous intensity in a given direction. ... See also: Accretion (finance) Accretion is increase in size by gradual addition of smaller parts. ... Jump to: navigation, search A black hole is a concentration of mass great enough that the force of gravity prevents anything from escaping from it except through quantum tunneling behavior. ... A physicist is a scientist trained in physics. ... One of Sir Arthur Stanley Eddingtons papers announced Einsteins theory of general relativity to the English-speaking world. ...
If luminosity exceeds the Eddington limit, there would be so much radiation pressure that the surrounding gas is pushed outward rather than inward. Without gas to provide energy, the luminosity naturally decreases to the Eddington limit where gas is pushed inward again. Electromagnetic radiation exerts a pressure upon any surface exposed to it. ...
The Eddington limit is a function of the mass of the accreting object:
where
LEddington is the maximum luminosity that can be radiated by accretion.
Eddington also investigated the interior of stars, and calculated their temperature based on what would be necessary to withstand the pressure of the higher-laying layers.
In 1920, Eddington, on the basis of the precise measurements of atoms by F. Aston, was the first to suggest that stars obtained their energy from nuclear fusion of hydrogen to helium.
Eddington at one time thought the fine structure constant α, which had been measured at approximately 1/137, should be exactly 1/137, based on aesthetic and numerological arguments.
Eddington wrote an article, Report on the relativity theory of gravitation, which announced Einstein's theory of general relativity to the English-speaking world.
After the war, Eddington travelled to the island of Principe near Africa to watch the solar eclipse of 29 May 1919.
Eddington also investigated the interior of stars, and calculated their temperature based on what would be necessary to withstand the pressure of the higher-laying layers.
Feeds |
Contact