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Imagine you walk into a room that's absolutely packed with people. It's so crowded that no one can really move, they're all shoulder to shoulder. Now, you want to squeeze into the room too, but there's no space. 1/ 
Everyone is pushing back against you, not because they're mean or don't want you there, but simply because there's no more room.
In the world of quantum mechanics, particles like electrons have a rule that's kind of like a law of politeness at a fancy party: ... 2/
In the world of quantum mechanics, particles like electrons have a rule that's kind of like a law of politeness at a fancy party: ... 2/
... no two of them can have exactly the same set of quantum numbers. It's as if every person at the party has a unique combination of name, outfit color, and hat style. This is known as the Pauli exclusion principle. 3/
So, what happens inside the cores of stars, or in the remnants of stars called white dwarfs, is similar to trying to push into our crowded room. Electrons are packed together so closely that they can't occupy the same quantum state as their neighbors. 4/
They push back against any additional pressure trying to squash them closer together. This push-back is what we call "degeneracy pressure.”
Degeneracy pressure doesn't come from the usual thermal motion of particles that we associate with things like air pressure or ... 5/
Degeneracy pressure doesn't come from the usual thermal motion of particles that we associate with things like air pressure or ... 5/
... steam in a kettle. Instead, it comes purely from the quantum rule that says electrons won't share their quantum states. It's a standoffish kind of pressure that's incredibly strong and can counteract the immense gravitational forces trying to collapse a star. 6/
To visualize it, imagine trying to push more people into our already crammed room. It's not the heat or energy of the people pushing back; it's the fact that there's simply no more space as per the "party rules." 7/
These rules keep white dwarfs and other exotic stellar objects from collapsing under their own gravity, giving us a universe that's a whole lot more interesting.
In essence, degeneracy pressure is a cosmic "No More Room!" sign, and it's one of the reasons why ... 8/
In essence, degeneracy pressure is a cosmic "No More Room!" sign, and it's one of the reasons why ... 8/
... stars don't just keep on squishing down into black holes all the time. It's quantum mechanics thrown into space, and it holds up stars. 9/9
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