ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Lane–Emden equation

Have you ever played with playdough and squished it really hard, and then it bounces back to its original shape? Well, stars kind of do the same thing! But instead of playdough, they are made of gas that is pushing outwards, and gravity that is pulling inwards. The balance between these two forces is what makes stars the shape they are.

Scientists use something called the Lane-Emden equation to help understand how stars keep their shape. It's like a fancy math equation that helps them figure out how the gas in the star moves and changes over time. Imagine a big ball of gas, like a balloon filled with air. Now let's squash that balloon down to make it smaller. As you squeeze it, the air gets compressed and becomes denser. That's kind of what happens in a star, too.

The Lane-Emden equation helps scientists figure out how that gas behaves as it gets squished. It tells them things like how hot the gas is, how much pressure it's under, and how fast it's moving around. These are all important things to know if we want to understand how stars form and change over time.

So, the Lane-Emden equation is like a helpful tool that scientists use to learn more about the stars in the sky. But if you're still confused, just remember that it's kind of like squishing playdough, but with gas and really smart math!