neutron stars are one among the possible final stages of the life of stars massive that belong to the main sequence. Stars that are not massive enough to give rise to a Black Hole they transform into neutron stars.
neutron stars are small but extremely hot and dense, have very high gravities and can have extreme magnetic fields.
Read too: What is dark matter?
How do neutron stars arise?
The process that gives rise to neutron stars is the supernovae, a process that occurs when a star consumes all its fuel. As soon as that happens, the nuclear mergers in the star's core, thus causing a gravitational collapse: its outer layers are ejected at high speeds and to all directions of space. A small nucleus, however, remains cohesive, giving rise to the neutron star.
As the name suggests, these stars are formed exclusively byneutrons. This is because the core that results from the death of stars is extremely massive, its gravity compresses it more and more, causing protons and electrons they are based on neutrons.
How big is a neutron star?
Neutron stars have an average size that varies. between 10 km and 30 km in diameter. However, as they are generally very dim and tiny stars compared to other stars, its size is estimated indirectly. This occurs through gravitational interactions between them and other surrounding stars, or even through the detection of gases and cosmic dust that form accretion disks, which rotate at high speed around these stars, making their detection more easy.
How much “weighs” a neutron star?
Neutron stars originate from other stars that had masses 10 to 30 times the mass. Sun. The result of the death of these large stars causes the emergence of a neutron star that can have between 2 and 3 solar masses.
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What is the density of a neutron star?
After black holes, neutron stars are the densest celestial bodies ever discovered by man. THE density of a neutron star can vary between 3.7.1017 kg/m³ and 5.9.1017 kg/m³, that is, they are hundreds of trillions denser than the Sun.
Such density results in the volume of one teaspoon (5 ml) of matter contained in a neutron star being about a billion tons!
What is the closest neutron star to Earth?
the neutron star closest to Earth to date is known as Calvera and is found in the constellation Ursa Minor, at a distance that can vary between 250 and 1000 light-years hence.
See too: What are exoplanets?
Fun Facts About Neutron Stars
- Some neutron stars rotate very fast around their own axis. The speed record is for the star PSR J1748-2446ad, which completes 716 turns around itself every second, for this reason its surface rotates at 25% of the speed. speed of light
- The gravity on the surface of a neutron star varies around 2.1012 m/s². Thus, if an object were dropped 1 m high into a neutron star 12 km in diameter, it would reach the surface of the star at a speed of 1400 km/s!
- THE temporal dilation due to the gravity of neutron stars, 8 years there would equal 10 years on Earth.
- O magnetic field of neutron stars can reach the 10 mark11 T. To give you an idea, the largest artificial magnetic field ever produced by man was 1200 T and, even so, 50 million times more intense than the magnetic field of the Earth.
- Some neutron stars emit extremely intense and concentrated beams of particles and x-rays, as well as radio waves, which makes these stars known as pulsars.
By Rafael Hellerbrock
Physics teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
HELERBROCK, Rafael. "What is a neutron star?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/fisica/o-que-e-uma-estrela-de-neutrons.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
What is Physics?
Click to learn more about black holes, small regions of space with gigantic masses, between tens and millions of times the mass of the Sun. Due to their great gravity, at a minimum distance, not even light can escape their great attraction, so it is impossible to see them directly.
Physics
Do you know what the speed of light is? In a vacuum, light can travel at a speed of 299,792,458 meters per second. To this day, nothing has been known to move faster than her. The speed of light does not depend on its emitting source, nor on its observers, but exclusively on the medium in which it propagates.
