A process, first postulated by George Gamow (1904–68) and Mario Schoenberg (1914–90) in 1941, in which much of the large quantity of energy generated by the collapse of a large star to produce a neutron star (see supernova) is carried away by neutrinos. This process explains why stars can collapse rapidly rather than have this collapse delayed by the heat generated. Neutrinos created in this way have been detected. The Urca process is named after the Casino da Urca, which was a nightclub in Rio de Janeiro that Gamow and Schoenberg were visiting when they had their idea.