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If this point is reached, it would then collapse and initiate runaway nuclear fusion. The most massive to explode would be just below the Chandrasekhar limit at around 1.41 solar masses and would take of the order of , while the least massive to explode would be about 1.16 solar masses and would take of the order , totaling around 1% of all black dwarfs. One major caveat is that proton decay would decrease the mass of a black dwarf far more rapidly than pycnonuclear processes occur, preventing any supernova

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