I just calculated the GBE for the sun using the q*GM^2/r using q=1.5, like
this source suggested and was a bit suprised over the result not being 3.8*10^41.
Checking it again I just now see that in the 3.8 result said there, there is still standing the q in the formula, meaning it actually suggests a 3.8*1.5 result.
Antvasima said:
Blademan9999 wrote the following post in the blog:
[...]
On table 4 (page 96) the 4th column is core density / average density. The sun has a density at the center of 150g/cm^3. Which is reach for a value of n between 3.25 and 3.5
And by equation 90 page 101, ╬® which is used to represent potential energy
= 3GM^2/r(5-n)
Plugging this is gives a value close to our original one.
That result and this one is more or less the same. q=1.5 in the source mentioned before means as much as n=3 in this one. so n=3.25 to 3.5 is resonably close.
Thing is given this the result actually doesn't match
the german source on the gbe. (For the GBE of the german source q=1 or n=2 would have to be the case)
So this is getting difficult again.
Assaltwaffle said:
Also how sure are we that the book is still accurate? That thing is coming up on 80 years old. I'm pretty sure we have made a fair bit of progress in astrophysics since WW2.
This article writes in regards to the model:
"Before astronomers learned to make "real" stellar models, polytropes were quite impottant. As shown in the next figure, where I have plotted the actual density distribution of the Sun compared with an n = 3 polytrope, there is a real similarity. While polytropes are only of historical interest for the study of main sequence and giant stars, they still have their use."
So it definitely isn't up to date, albeit not completely bad either.
Which brings us to the debate if taking the german source wouldn't still be the correct course of action. While the GBE is only a fleeting mention there without more being explained the source is very credible and from 1997, meaning reasonably modern.
Aside from that we could still use the model
this or
this model (basically the same) as a good approximation when calculating other stars, unless someone finds out what the modern star model suggests. (I could see if my library in my university offers something, but I probably won't find time to study a bunch of books on astrophysics during this or the next month)
Assaltwaffle said:
Honestly we should probably calculate the "average star." Because the Sun is way above average.
For star level? No. 99% of all stars destroyed in fiction are our sun or at least similar to it. It makes most sense to use that as baseline for star and solar system stuff.
Assaltwaffle said:
Well I know that. I figured we use invers square but instead of basing it in our own Sun we get the average star in the galaxy and use that instead.
Thing is: Why the average star? You would also need to destroy above average stars and for the actual result of the calculation with inverse square law basically only one star, that is very far away and has high gbe, matters. To that comes that, if we simply calculate some average from a bunch of examples, we risk that needing to be changed in the future again, once someone makes an average over a large sample or finds some professional average star, or something.
I think there are mainly two options for choosing the baseline star for galaxies that would have arguments going for them:
1. Sun:
Pro
-the most common star in fiction and often other stars in fiction are somewhat similar
-only slight change to the current value (few revision necessary)
-low end
-star we use as standard for star level
contra
-other stars would give higher results, meaning it is a low end
2. Star with high GBE/frontal area ratio
pro
-Makes sense, as those stars also need to be destroyed when the galaxy is destroyed (less of a low end)
contra
-which star to take? -> better choices could come up later causing yet another revision
-Technically no clear upper end (the closer a star is to a black hole the higher its GBE gets, with the upper end being the infinite/undefined GBE of a black hole)
-Our star formula don't really apply to exotic stars making that a source of possible revision as well if we take more extreme cases
All in all I believe choosing the sun would result in the least trouble, to be honest.