5.18.2009
A Computer Models the Skin of a Neutron Star
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New computer models are enabling researchers to create virtual 'skins' on neutron stars. The collapsed remnant of supernovas, neutron stars possess some of the following dazzling properties:
The density is so great that one teaspoonful of a neutron star would weigh 100 million tons. Compare that to baking soda.
If you could replace the shiny clean floor of your kitchen (clean enough to see your reflection) with a neutron star crust, guess what would happen?
Let's say you were groggy after an all-nite programming session or skipped your caffeine fix and you dropped the hypothetical teaspoon, it would strike the surface at 4.3 million mph!
Wow. What would Galileo have said?
In addition, the new computer model projects that the compressed selenium atoms in the crust of the neutron star could be 10 billion times stronger than the strongest cobalt steel on earth.
syndicated space.com article
Labels: galileo, kitchen, neutron, selenium
