130
SOLUTION OF THE EQUATIONS
at 10,000,000° would become 3-3 (iron with K and L rings complete) at
1,000,000°, and 8-3 (iron with 6 electrons missing) at 10,000°. If the
elements are mainly lighter than iron this may be an over-correction of
the effect. It is possible that there may be a compensation due to the
elements of high atomic weight tending to concentrate towards the centre,
but according to present knowledge this seems unlikely (§ 196). In
obtaining the results for Capella (§13) the value .9 = -f has been assumed
which is perhaps nearly as probable as s = |*.
Table 12.
Molecular Weight varying as T~ s .
s
n
M n
C n
Pc! Pm
T n IT e
- JL
4-5
1-7357
•00160
6377
•548
~ 5
4
1-8064
•00197
623
•570
0
3
2-0150
•00309
54-36
—
1
2-5
2-2010
•00387
24-08
•675
Í
2-33
(2-27)
•00421
(20)
•679
Ì
2
2-4107
•00512
11-40
•685
3
IS
1-5
2-7176
•00696
6-00
•713
1
1
3-1416
•01002
3-29
•742
It will be seen that the central density is about 20-25 times the mean
density when allowance is made for variable y, as compared with 54 times
the mean density on the usual assumption of constant ¡x. The central
temperatures will also be reduced a little. The change is not so very
important, because there is in any case an uncertain factor of about 2 in
the central density owing to our ignorance of the low temperature part of
the star (§ 67). Also, although it is convenient to give the central tempera
ture and density for comparative purposes, we are really more concerned
with mean conditions than with these extreme values.
Dense Stars.
95. According to the giant and dwarf theory the dwarf series of stars
is due to the material of a star ceasing to behave as a perfect gas when
the density becomes great. The theory assumes that the deviations set in
at about the same density under stellar conditions as in terrestrial gases.
In the author’s earlier papers the theory of imperfect gases was developed
in considerable detail for application to dwarf stars.
* Results for s — \ could not be given with so much detail since Emden’s tables
do not include this value. Fowler and Guggenheim’s calculations indicate that the
value s = \ is quite large enough (§ 180).