I read somewhere that degenerate matter at the cores of white dwarf or nonfusing matter is a crystalline solid, with the electrons, trapped by gravity, condensing into ordered arrays that are not associated with nuclei. This strange form of matter has the notable characteristic of conducting heat at the speed of sound, which is very high in this "crystal of a single molecule".<br /><br />I wonder if this is the basis for an observation that has been around for a long time (I read about it in an Asimov book). As one increases the power of the telescope used for observing, one sees more and more stars. However, at some point, detection of stars tapers off, and one begins to see more and more galaxies.<br /><br />A mass of hydrogen 0.08% of a solar mass, 1/12 of the Sun, would fuse hydrogen in the normal fashion and be a star. However, these objects are not observed. Instead, the minimum mass star seems to be 0.10% of the Sun, 1/10 of a solar mass.<br /><br />However, theory and the most recent observations (after the passing of Isaac Asimov) indicate that objects can form via the same mechanism as stellar collapse that are as small as 0.008% of a solar mass, or one tenth the minimum mass of a star.<br /><br />Unfortunately, any object not fusing hydrogen is extremely hard to see. There have not been enough detected to make meaningful statistical studies. The only ones seen (except for a tiny handful) are very, very new and fusing deuterium. Deuterium is only 1% -2% of the interstellar medium and burns much faster than hydrogen, thus these objects are only detectable for a few tens of millions of years and are mostly seen in or near star-forming regions.<br /><br />All objects larger than 0.013 solar masses start by fusing deuterium with hydrogen to form helium-3, which is a reactive fusion fuel. When the deuterium is depleted, the star collapses until the helium-3 starts fusing.<br /><br />Could it be that objects between one tenth and one twelfth solar masses form a cor