In reply to Jones Beene's message of Mon, 27 Mar 2017 09:59:50 -0700: Hi, I wonder how they know the age? If they are wrong, and it formed only recently, then perhaps it simply hasn't yet condensed to the point where it ignites?
> >The smallest known star that astronomers have found is named >OGLE-TR-122b. Its radius is accurately measured at 167,000 km. That >makes it 20% larger than planet Jupiter but like most stars, it is >radiating energy in a way which indicates that nuclear fusion has been >underway for billions of years, presumably converting hydrogen into >helium like our sun, only less of it, and at longer wavelength, due to >the small size. > >Yet today, without reference to the presence of any small star, the >science news is reporting a much larger dim object has been found, not a >star and more like a planet, which is 90 times more massive than >Jupiter. This object is not undergoing nuclear fusion. It is called SDSS >J0104+1535 and consists of more than 99.99% hydrogen and helium but >without nuclear ignition, despite the enormous gravity. > >It is not clear that "high purity" is an actual parameter which >prohibits it from going nuclear, since it makes little sense that so >much hydrogen would not ignite, as happens in the much smaller star, due >to the Lawson criteria if nothing else. There is such a massive >disparity in the energy released from the smaller and hotter object, >compared to the much larger colder object- that great doubt is cast on >many assumptions relative to nuclear fusion at the cosmological scale. > >Does LENR have a place in this picture? > >The smaller, dirtier and much hotter object may be undergoing energetic >reactions which are not the same as fusion in our sun, for instance. If >it is less pure, then much of that impurity would be iron and nickel - >just like many meteorites. Notably these two metals are catalysts for LENR. > >I would be willing to bet that not a single reputable astronomer will >bring up this possibility - that the smallest stars could be powered by >LENR instead of hot fusion, but can we rule out the possibility ? Is >there a better explanation for the strange picture which has been >presented above? > >. Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
