A Neutron Star is a type of remnant that can result from the gravitational collapse of a massive star during a Type II, Type Ib or Type Ic Supernova event. Such stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles with zero electrical charge and roughly the same mass as protons. Neutron stars are very hot and are supported against further collapse because of the Pauli exclusion principle. This principle states that no two neutrons (or any other fermionic particle) can occupy the same quantum state simultaneously. A typical neutron star has a mass between 1.35 and about 2.1 solar masses, with a corresponding radius of about 12 km if the Akmal-Pandharipande-Ravenhall (APR) Equation of state (EOS) is used. In contrast, the Sun’s radius is about 60,000 times that. Neutron stars have overall densities predicted by the APR EOS of 3.7 × 1017 (2.6 × 1014 times Solar Density) to 5.9 × 1017 kg/m³ (4.1 × 1014 times Solar Density), which compares with the approximate density of an atomic nucleus of 3 × 1017 kg/m³. The neutron star’s density varies from below 1 × 109 kg/m³ in the crust increasing with depth to above 6 or 8 × 1017 kg/m³ deeper inside. As the core of a massive star is compressed during a supernova, and collapses into a neutron star, it retains most of its angular momentum. Since it has only a tiny fraction of its parent’s radius (and therefore its moment of inertia is sharply reduced), a neutron star is formed with very high rotation speed, and then gradually slows down. Neutron stars are known to have rotation periods between about 1.4 ms to 30 seconds. The neutron star’s compactness also gives it very high surface gravity, up to 7 × 1012 m/s² with typical values of a few × 1012 m/s² (that is more than 1011 times of that of Earth). One measure of such immense gravity is the fact that neutron stars have an escape velocity of around 100,000 km/s, about 33% of the speed of light. Matter falling onto the surface of a neutron star would be accelerated to tremendous speed by the star’s gravity. The force of impact would likely destroy the object’s component atoms, rendering all its matter identical, in most respects, to the rest of the star. The gravitational binding energy of a neutron star with two solar masses is equivalent to the total conversion of one solar mass to energy (From the law of mass-energy equivalence, E=mc2). That energy was released during the supernova explosion. A neutron star is so dense that one teaspoon (5 millilitres) of its material would have a mass over 5×1012 kg. The resulting force of gravity is so strong that if an object were to fall from just one meter high it would hit the surface of the neutron star at around 2000 kilometres per second, or 4.3 million miles per hour. The temperature inside a newly formed neutron star is from around 1011 to 1012 Kelvin. However, the huge number of neutrinos it emits carries away so much energy that the temperature falls within a few years to around 1 million Kelvin. Even at 1 million Kelvin, most of the light generated by a neutron star is in X-rays. In visible light, neutron stars probably radiate approximately the same energy in all parts of visible spectrum, and therefore appear white. Neutron stars rotate extremely rapidly after their creation due to the conservation of angular momentum, a newborn neutron star can rotate several times a second; sometimes, when they orbit a companion star and are able to accrete matter from it, they can increase this to several hundred times per second, distorting into an oblate spheroid shape despite their own immense gravity (an equatorial bulge). But the question is that, can it kill us or harm us? The answer is a straight Yes. When two Neutron Star rotates in a angular movement, they start moving towards each other, and thus intensifying their rotation. When these stars collide with each other, a huge and intense Gamma Radiation is evolved which is spread all around and upto much higher distances from it. The fact is that, Scientists believe that if the neutron stars collide near the Solar System, then the amount of energy released from them can destroy any form of life in the planet in a matter of time, thus resulting in the destruction of Earth.
So you know now that the energy released from the collision of two neutron stars, though it lasts for a few seconds or milliseconds, can create a major impact on the planet, or in other words, it can kill us!
.
source: rcthegreatblog.com
SMF Shoutbox
Total Posts: 17,345 