Red Super Giant
Key Stage 4
Meaning
A red super giant is the stage in a high mass star's life when it has run out of Hydrogen to fuse and begins to fuse Helium.
About Red Super Giants
- When a massive main sequence star runs out of Hydrogen the core collapses because there is an inward pressure of gravity but no outward pressure from fusion. Eventually the core collapses to heat the core enough that fusion of Helium can occur.
- As the core of the red giant collapses the outer layers begin to spread further from the core making the star grow in volume and the red super giant becomes the largest type of star in the universe.
- A red super giant is much cooler than other stars but also much brighter due to its larger surface area.
References
AQA
- Red super giants, page 319, GCSE Physics; The Complete 9-1 Course for AQA, CGP, AQA
- Red super giants, pages 252, 253, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA
- Red super-giant, pages 285, 287, GCSE Physics; Student Book, Collins, AQA
- Red supergiants, page 234, GCSE Physics; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA