Newly Discovered Star Has an Almost Pure Oxygen Atmosphere

Popular Mechanics ^ | 3/31/16 | William Herkewitz

[BenLurkin]

Oxygen would combust, yes?

[fhayek]

But good luck breathing in the bone-crushing gravity.

Like we need a pure oxygen atmosphere. Our own atmosphere is only 21% Oxygen.

[Lurker]

Oxygen itself does not combust.

[kosciusko51]

Only if you have fuel to burn. At those levels, not much to burn.

[Islander7]

No, oxygen is not flammable on its own. Combustion requires fuel; pure oxygen = no fuel.

[ChessExpert]

“With an outermost layer of 99.9 percent pure oxygen,” I guess there is little to combust with. Perhaps some of the remaining .1% may have already combined with oxygen.

[Daniel Ramsey]

I bet anything ferrous has a hard time there, rust planet!

[disndat]

Its slowly cooling surface would still be about 21,000C and its gravity would be about 100,000 times more intense than on Earth — the equivalent of walking around while carrying 40 blue whales, he said.

Concentrated oxygen under this pressure would be poisonous, he added.

[TimF]

Space Ball 1 and President Skroob are on the way.

[StAntKnee]

A planet named, NoF’inSmokin’

[Yashcheritsiy]

Oxygen is needed for combustion, but so is fuel, which may not be available.

[sagar]

Gubmint scientists nothing thinking through.

[Yashcheritsiy]

But good luck breathing in the bone-crushing gravity.

A newly discovered star is unlike any ever found. With an outermost layer of 99.9 percent pure oxygen, its atmosphere is the most oxygen-rich in the known universe. Heck, it makes Earth's meager 21 percent look downright suffocating.

It'd be way too hot for us to try breathing it anywise.

[central_va]

< buzzkill > What good is any of this astro physics research? What’s the purpose?< /buzzkill >

[HiTech RedNeck]

At the temperatures of the star, oxygen compounds couldn’t remain together. They would shake back apart into their original atoms.

Maybe a star like this is how the Lord forged the atoms of oxygen for the earth.

[HiTech RedNeck]

“Decompose” is the word I’m looking for.

At ordinary temperatures oxygen + fuel => oxide + heat

At the elevated temperatures of the star, it would go in the other direction.

[Fred Hayek]

This is a massive white dwarf if it has that high oxygen. Down to the core is probably a lot more silicon. However it is not massive enough to burn silicon (a rather violent reaction, producing iron.
The mass of this core remnant must be awful close to the Chandrasekhar limit. Past the limit, it would collapse into a black hole.

[Fred Hayek]

32,000 white dwarfs? This is a stellar graveyard.

[soycd]

O2 needs fuel for a chemical reaction. There may be a way to use nuclear fusion and other particle tricks, but I’m not standing near it for the test run.