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What is the theoretical limit to density? At what point could space no longer contain any more mass?

  • at absolute zero
  • assuming you could pack matter (hydrogen, a heavier atom, or a combination) so that no voids remain (like fitting golf balls, jelly beans, sand, and water into a container)
  • contained so it doesn't blow apart
  • isolated so it doesn't form a black hole that swallows our universe.

I did not think "Is there an upper theoretical density limit?" had the right flavor to it, and "A Universal Upper Limit on Mass Within a Radius $R$?" is too deep for me.

KA_
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2 Answers2

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As far as I know, neutron stars meet your definition of "packing matter as tightly as possible", with a density around $10^{17} \rm{kg/m^3}$

Floris
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I also thought about that already. What I figured out is that firstly, in General Relativity, there is no such thing as a density where a black hole is created; it just depends on how much mass you have in what radius (you could e.g. create a black hole the density of air, as long as the volume is big enough), so that is no limitation (it would be in the second question you mentioned). Absolute zero isn't a problem either. The Pauli exclusion principle may cause problems, so it would be wise to use bosons (photons, Higgs particles,...). Furthermore, the amount of energy you will need to contain it all may pose problems. I would say that there are no limitations in principle, but I really am not sure.

Markus Zetto
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