Degenerate matter

Have you ever seen how ice turns into water when it's hot? Just like this, matter in the universe can also change from one form to another. When a star hangs out in space for millions of years, it uses up all the fuel it has and can't keep burning anymore. At this point, it gets smaller and turns into something called "degenerate matter."

Now, degenerate matter is very special. Imagine you have a big lollypop, and you want to eat it, but it's so big you can't fit it in your mouth. You try and try, but it just won't fit, no matter how hard you try. Degenerate matter is like that lollypop, except it can't shrink anymore because its electrons are all squished together as tightly as they can be.

This creates a very unique and powerful substance that doesn't behave like anything else in the universe. It's like an invisible force field around the star that keeps it from collapsing in on itself. Think of it like a huge hug that's holding everything in place. This is super cool because if we didn't have degenerate matter, the universe wouldn't be the same!