Maximizing Planet Densities

[problemecium]

For some time now I've had a hypothesis that Kerbol is not in fact a magical tiny G-class star but an old, relatively cool white dwarf (such as a DC9, which is spectrally similar to the Sun). The planets would also be made partially of electron-degenerate matter, making them much denser than any known planets and making possible their high surface gravities relative to their sizes.

But today I decided to fact-check myself and look up the lower mass limits for stellar remnants such as white dwarfs, and I found the following:
- White dwarf: at least 0.6 solar masses, below which it will convert into a "carbon planet" and expand to a much larger size and lower density
- Neutron star: at least 0.1 solar masses, below which it will explode in an event similar to a type 1a supernova, and any core remnant left over will be composed of ordinary matter of assorted elements.

Kerbol has a mass of roughly 0.01 solar masses, and Kerbin less than a millionth of a solar mass. So nothing in the Kerbolar system could actually be made of electron-degenerate matter or solid neutrons, which leaves the question: Exactly what might they be made of?

So can anyone else come up with some ideas for how to greatly increase the density of a planet or star, so that we don't have to go with "gravity is stronger in the Kerbal universe" or "it's magic"? Yes, I do understand that it IS magic, but for the sake of mental stimulation, I'd like to try to come up with a headcanon that holds water.

As an example, say we take a planet like Earth. It has a certain mass, and since it's made mainly of iron, silicon, and oxygen, it has a certain resulting radius and density. But if we converted it into pure gold, it would become denser and thus end up smaller. Can we come up with some configuration of materials, possibly including degenerate matter, that could produce the necessary densities?

[Bill Phil]

Gravity isn't stronger. It's the same as ours. But we probably will need wizardry to help. Maybe graviton generators, after a Type II or something built them? Magratheans?

[Spaceception]

Perhaps the planets are made mostly of Osmium and Iridium. With some graviton generators as well.            /  \

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Edited January 15, 2016 by Spaceception

[problemecium]

Okay but the point of this thread is not to have magical extra gravity, be that my graviton generators or otherwise.

It's really more for the hardcore physics and chemistry nerds (sorry to say if you aren't in that crowd). IS Osmium or Iridium dense enough to pull that off? What sorts of dimensions would a sphere of Osmium have at hydrostatic equilibrium?

[Bill Phil]

Sometimes things are just not possible. My father says that it needs a black hole or something in the center of Kerbin. I say that it's just not possible.

[wumpus]

Wouldn't a black hole inside Kerbin be stable for a fairly long time?  Not long enough for Kerbals to evolve from non-life (billions of years) but possibly thousands to tens of thousands of years?  The problem with this is that *every* planet has a black hole in it.  The worst would be Kerbol: you would probably need a fairly big black hole just to keep the fusion going.

I like to think that they have neutron star material cores, but don't really believe that the stuff is stable without the huge gravitational pressures holding it together.  Maybe there are some stable elements in the next row of the Periodic Table.

[fredinno]

5 hours ago, wumpus said:

Wouldn't a black hole inside Kerbin be stable for a fairly long time?  Not long enough for Kerbals to evolve from non-life (billions of years) but possibly thousands to tens of thousands of years?  The problem with this is that *every* planet has a black hole in it.  The worst would be Kerbol: you would probably need a fairly big black hole just to keep the fusion going.

I like to think that they have neutron star material cores, but don't really believe that the stuff is stable without the huge gravitational pressures holding it together.  Maybe there are some stable elements in the next row of the Periodic Table.

Doubt it. The Island of stability is unlikely to have element even as stable as Uranium. And black holes would suck up more of the planet as it gets bigger. Any sort of degenerate matter probably would decay into normal matter without the pressures of a dead star.