It involves a runaway thermonuclear process which spreads through the white dwarf in a matter of seconds, producing a type Ia supernova which releases an immense amount of energy as the star is blown apart.
One result is that the star does not expand much to balance its fusion and heat processes with gravity and electron pressure, as it did when burning hydrogen (until too late).
A 2004 analysis of such a process states that: A deflagration flame burning from the center of the white dwarf star outward leaves hot and light burnt material behind.
As hydrostatic equilibrium is not possible in this situation, a "thermonuclear flame" is triggered and an explosive eruption through the dwarf star's surface that completely disrupts it, seen as a type Ia supernova.
Regardless of the exact details of this nuclear fusion, it is generally accepted that a substantial fraction of the carbon and oxygen in the white dwarf is converted into heavier elements within a period of only a few seconds,[4] raising the internal temperature to billions of degrees.
The typical visual absolute magnitude of type Ia supernovae is Mv = −19.3 (about 5 billion times brighter than the Sun), with little variation.