SPECULATION THE STARKILLER: How Does it Work? Iron - Science Fact May Actually Inform Science Fiction

First, watch this 2 minute video:
The Starkiller: Iron - How the Universe Works: Extreme Stars

Iron is definitely a starkiller if it's being made in the core of a star. Fact:

"A critical situation arises when iron accumulates in the core, since iron nuclei are incapable of generating further energy through fusion." ​

How much iron is needed to cause a supernova? Fact:

"An inert iron core builds up at this time where successive layers above the core consume the remaining fuel of lighter nuclei in the core. The core is about the size of the Earth, compressed to extreme densities and near the Chandrasekhar limit. The outer regions of the star have expanded to fill a volume as large as Jupiter's orbit from the Sun. Since iron does not act as a fuel, the burning stops.

The sudden stoppage of energy generation causes the core to collapse and the outer layers of the star to fall onto the core. The infalling layers collapse so fast that they `bounce' off the iron core at close to the speed of light. The rebound causes the star to explode as a supernova. The energy released during this explosion is so immense that the star will out shine an entire galaxy for a few days. Supernova can be seen in nearby galaxies, about one every 100 years (therefore, if you survey 100 galaxies per year you expect to see at least one supernova a year)." ​

So, how does iron build up in a star? Fact:
Basically, this only happens when a star fuses all its available lighter elements at the end of a star's life. Unless, of course, stellar death could be expedited somehow. First we must ask that question:

Can stellar death be expedited? Fact....err...um...or...
Well, if you're JJ Abrams, you didn't even need to ask because you already know the answer. But how? Well, it's fiction, so it's easy: just make up something that sounds plausible. Like this:

Catapult a huge mass of iron engineered on the scale of small worlds to the inside of a young star through hyperspace, set to emerge at the very center of the star. Once there, perhaps it would displace the star's core normal fuel supply and over the course of seconds or minutes (as some scientists suggest), the presence of iron (along with perhaps another exotic catalyst) triggers the star's self-destruction. Where is the star's core displaced to, you ask? I dunno, maybe back into hyperspace ... dammit, Jim. I'm a Star Wars fanboy, not an astrophysicist.​

My point is, there are probably dozens of ways to use science fact as the basis for a fictional super-weapon. The iron thing is almost too perfect a place to borrow from science to inform science fiction. JJ already did this with the red matter creating a singularity. In this case, it's even easier. It's just iron. Wait ... iron rusts into a red-orange-brown color resembling iron oxide. Shoot, iron is red matter!

Where do you get huge amounts of iron? Well, well, well, my fellow nerdy nerds, you're gonna love this: from the CORE OF A PLANET.

"At the peak of binding energy, nickel-62 is the most tightly bound nucleus (per nucleon), followed by iron-58 and iron-56. This is the approximate basic reason why iron and nickel are very common metals in planetary cores, since they are produced profusely as end products in supernovae and in the final stages of silicon burning in stars."​

Maybe the FO goes from one planet to the next just to mine each planet's core for its star-killing material, eg, iron and nickel, leaving behind huge, cavernous, skeletons of planets. Yes, just so they could get huge amounts of iron to kill stars and once more rule the galaxy with an iron fist. Chilling. But it's just speculation. Chill out.

Yes, I've heard the crystal theory. One variation of this theory is here.

Metaphorical Implications: A Moral?
What does this tell us? What is a potential metaphorical message? The light of a star dies from an iron heart. The light of people do, too, especially those who truly become immune to the light. The end.

 

A green laser? Haha

 

From the Nov. 13 EW article on Starkiller Base:

"Stars that don’t end their lifecycles in supernovas can become a red giant, consuming everything in their orbit in a colossal, crimson expansion of energy before collapsing again into a white dwarf."​

That sentence is the first thing I've seen suggesting the science fiction in TFA has at least some basis in science fact. It was almost as if JJ or DG, the two sources cited in the article, didn't want to go on the record with a quote regarding the science or how Starkiller works to expedite stellar death, but instead seems to have hinted to Breznican that cutting short the life of a star may result in a nova, not a supernova. It's getting away from supernova territory, which could be problematic because they are so destructive, wiping out that system and nearby systems. A nova, however, makes it a much more local event but one that could still wipe out life on any planets in that particular system. Going nova is actually how our star will end because it's not massive enough to go supernova.

Carl Sagan describes the inevitable death of the Earth and Sun in his 1980 book Cosmos with gorgeous illustrations by Adolf Schaller, starting with the "last perfect day on Earth"...

"The death of the Earth and Sun. Several billion years from now, there will be a last perfect day (top left). Then over a period of millions of years, the Sun will swell, the Earth will heat, many lifeforms will be extinguished, and the shoreline will retreat (top right). The oceans will rapidly evaporate (bottom left) and then the atmosphere will escape to space. As the Sun evolves toward a red giant (bottom right) the Earth will become dry, barren and airless. Eventually the Sun will fill most of the sky, and may engulf the Earth. Paintings by Adolf Schaller."​

 

Certainly possible. In fact, you'd have to aim the energy discharged, whether by the electron tunneling thing or steering the energy discharge via gravity wells (Interdictor-class cruisers had gravity well generators ... if they can do that, they can do other cool stuff with gravity to control matter), so a Star Destroyer is a good mobile orbital platform to do that. We'll see if those ships have that capability.

And by the way, early concept art showed the Empire had that Interdictor-type technology, which was more or less adapted from the EU...demonstrating that the filmmakers wanted to increase the capabilities and intrigue of Star Destroyers in general for the new trilogy.




And, well, "Elementary physics: A beam of energy can always be diverted" ...



"Are we there yet, mommy?"

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 28, 2015, Original Post Date: Nov 28, 2015 ---

Iron absorbs energy and fusion. Watch the Discovery Channel video that started the thread. It's narrated by Mike Rowe. Iron is a starkiller. As soon as it's produced, the star will die in seconds.

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 28, 2015 ---