Density of a Neutron Star (original) (raw)
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| Bibliographic Entry | Result(w/surrounding text) | StandardizedResult |
|---|---|---|
| Beiser, Arthur. Physics 4th ed. USA: Addison-Wesley, 1986: 791. | 2.4 × 1017 kg/m3 | 2.4 × 1017 kg/m3 |
| Olinto, Angela V. "Neutron Star." Macmillan Encyclopedia of Physics. New York: Macmillan, 1996: 1037-1038. | mean density of star is 7 × 1014 g/cm3 | 7 × 1017 kg/m3 |
| North, John. Astronomy and Cosmology. New York: Norton,1995: 601. | 100 million tonnes per cubic centimeter | 9.1 × 1016 kg/m3 |
| Alter, Dinsmore. Pictorial Astronomy. New York: Harper, 1974: 202. | 1015 for neutron star of 1 solar mass | 1 × 1018 kg/m3 |
Some stars are able to be seen by the naked eye but this is not true for many neutron stars. A neutron star originates from a normal star through a process called a supernova. This is when the star explodes. It blows up because the rate of fusion in the star decreases and the star can no longer support itself.
All of the data I found on the density of a neutron star are similar to each other. No number totally contradicts another. There are minor differences between the numbers because they are the average densities of the many neutron stars in existence. The densities of neutron stars are so huge because the stars from which they originate have collapsed. The mass of the star is slightly more in a neutron star but the radius drops dramatically. It is only about 10 kilometers as compared to a normal star which has a radius of about 500,000 kilometers. The formula for density is mass/volume so the smaller the radius, the larger the density.
Anthony Colgan -- 1998
External links to this page:
- Neutronenstern, MilkyWeb