Daily Universe Fact: Neutron Stars At the end of a high-mass stars life, one of two things can happen. After a supernova, it either becomes a neutron star or a black hole. Neutron stars are fascinating beings, since their density is so massive that if you were take a teaspoon of the material present on the star, it would weigh (roughly) 500 million tons. If this teaspoon of material were to ever exist on Earth, it would go right through Earth and back again, creating a swiss-Earth. The stars mass is between 1.4 and 3 solar masses (1 solar mass = mass of our sun), however the radius of the star is extremely small, usually around 12 km, which is why the density is enormous. Because of this, the repulsion between electrons of neighboring atoms is not enough to keep them separated and the nuclei of atoms fall on one another (the star overcomes the electron degeneracy pressure). The repulsion between the neutrons is strong enough to keep them from falling on each other, so the neutron degeneracy pressure exceeds the gravitational pressure of the star and the star continues to exist as a neutron star.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 04:20:52 +0000
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