Something incredible happens inside the most advanced chip manufacturing machines: tiny supernovae.

The mathematical tools currently used by astrophysicists describe supernovae as the inevitable result of the exhaustion of the nuclear fusion processes that take place in the core of massive stars. During the phase known as the main sequence, stars obtain their energy from the fusion of hydrogen nuclei. As this chemical element is consumed, the star begins to produce helium nuclei, and, logically, its composition begins to evolve.

During this process, an enormous amount of energy is released, and the star is forced to continually readjust to maintain hydrostatic equilibrium, a phenomenon that results from the coexistence of two opposing forces capable of compensating for each other. One is gravitational contraction, which compresses the star’s matter, squeezing it relentlessly. The other is the pressure of radiation and gases, which is the product of the ignition of the nuclear furnace and attempts to force the star to expand.