Electron degeneracy pressure

Imagine you have a bunch of tiny balls, like marbles or peas. You can put them all in a jar and shake the jar as much as you want and they won't break because they are strong and hard.

Now think about electrons. They are tiny things that move around inside atoms. In some very special cases, like in white dwarf stars, a lot of electrons get squeezed really close together. They are packed so tightly that they can't get any closer because they are all negative and they repel each other.

When electrons get too close, they push each other away using something called "electron degeneracy pressure." It's like a force field that prevents them from getting too close. This force field is so strong that it can keep the electrons apart even when they are being squeezed by a lot of gravity.

So imagine you have a jar of marbles again, but instead of being solid and hard, they are squishy and bouncy. When you push them together, they push back with a force that keeps them from getting crushed. This is what electron degeneracy pressure is like - it's a force that keeps electrons from getting too close and squished together.