which dimension of stars is most likely to eventually become black holes?

Answer 1

A star needs to have at least 3 solar masses to have enough gravity to overcome neutron degeneracy pressure to collapse into a black hole at the end of its lifespan.

The 1.4 solar masses Adam G mentioned above is the Chandrasekhar Limit. It is the minimum amount of mass necessary for a star to overcome the electron degeneracy pressure to collapse into a neutron star at the end of its lifespan. 1.4 solar masses is not enough gravity to form a black hole.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

If any object is compacted down to its Schwarzschild radius, it will collapse into a black hole. For example, the Earth would have to be compacted to the size of a marble before it become a black hole. The size of the radius is linked to the mass of the star, so the more mass a star has, the more likely it is to fall within that radius and become a black hole. The exact equation relates mass, the gravitational constant, and the speed of light, as found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwarzschild_radius .

I hope that helps!

Answer 3

A star with at least 1.5 the mass of the sun has a chance to become a black hole.

Answer 4

Hi. It has more to do with mass. Our Sun does not have enough to become a black hole. From the web: "It would appear from the theory that if a collapsing star of over 3 solar masses does not eject matter, it has no choice but to become a black hole." http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=black+hole&gwp=13