Neutron stars are supercompressed objects formed from stars that have run out of nuclear fuel and collapsed inward. They are about 20 km in diameter and have a gravitational field 2 x 10^11 times stronger than Earth’s. The density is so great that atoms fuse to form electrically neutral neutrons. Neutron stars rotate rapidly and emit electromagnetic radiation, resulting in the title “pulsar”. They harbor exotic forms of matter and may never be directly observed. Main types include X-ray burster, pulsar, and magnetar.
A neutron star is a stellar remnant, a supercompressed object that remains when stars with masses between 1.4 and about 3 times the mass of our Sun run out of nuclear fuel and collapse inward. The result is a sphere of condensed matter about 20 km (12 miles) in diameter, with a gravitational field about 2 x 10^11 times stronger than Earth’s.
The density of a neutron star is so great that the protons and electrons that make up the atoms fuse to form electrically neutral neutrons, the primary particles that make up the neutron star. Because they are electrically neutral, such particles can be packed very tightly together, resulting in a celestial object with a density similar to that of the atomic nucleus.
The neutron star is an exotic astronomical object whose existence was predicted by theory 35 years before one was discovered in 1968. The escape velocity for a neutron star is about half the speed of light. The tallest “mountains” on such a star measure in millimeters (fractions of an inch) rather than kilometers (feet). Since the star’s rotational speed accelerates as it collapses, enormous angular velocities can be achieved, on the order of 30,000 km/sec (18,640 mi/sec), or a rotation every millisecond or two. When these rapidly rotating stars emit electromagnetic radiation that can be detected on Earth, it is received in continuous pulses, hence the title “pulsar”.
Formed from the nucleus of expired suns, the neutron star harbors exotic forms of matter found nowhere else in the universe: nuclei composed of enormous amounts of neutrons with no orbiting electrons, free neutrons floating in a soup of “neutronium ” superdense and perhaps exotic forms of matter such as pions or kaons. These are particles composed of unusual configurations or types of quarks, the constituents of subatomic particles. Because the conventional atomic forms of matter would be torn to shreds by the immense gravity and pressure of a neutron star, we may never be able to perform experiments or observations directly on such objects. The main types of neutron stars include the X-ray burster, pulsar and magnetar.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
