Frank Rafael B.

Fernandez INTEGRATED SCIENCE 15

9 – Rutherford Homework#

1. What is a Neutron Star?

a celestial object of very small radius (typically 18 miles/30 km) and very
high density, composed predominantly of closely packed neutrons. Neutron
stars are thought to form by the gravitational collapse of the remnant of a
massive star after a supernova explosion, provided that the star is
insufficiently massive to produce a black hole.

2. What is the unique features of this star from other stars?

- An important characteristic of neutron stars is the presence of very
strong magnetic fields, upward of 1012 gauss (Earth’s magnetic
field is 0.5 gauss), which causes the surface iron to be polymerized in
the form of long chains of iron atoms. The individual atoms become
compressed and elongated in the direction of the magnetic field and
can bind together end-to-end. Below the surface, the pressure
becomes much too high for individual atoms to exist.

- Neutron stars are also seen as objects called rotating radio transients
(RRATs) and as magnetars. The RRATs are sources that emit single
radio bursts but at irregular intervals ranging from four minutes to three
hours. The cause of the RRAT phenomenon is unknown. Magnetars are
highly magnetized neutron stars that have a magnetic field of between
1014 and 1015 gauss.

SOURCES:
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+a+neutron+star&oq=what+is+a+neutron+&aqs=ch
rome.1.69i57j0l5.11095j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
https://www.britannica.com/science/neutron-star