a question about neutron starts

[tpeezy]

I was watching a show and they said that if there was thimble full of the matter inside of a neutron star it would weigh more than mount everest, and I thought omg that is pretty darn dense. Then I started thinking what if somehow I know this is impossible but I was thinking what if someone or something dropped a basketball sized amount of neutron start material from a 2 story building how far do you think it would go into the ground, and how big of a shockwave, or how loud would it be? I know this is a really really stupid question lol, I was just curious haha.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Well, since such a thing is impossible (how could you transport neutron start (sic) material to earth), it would plummet into the center of the earth, oscillate a few times, then settle there and make us all weigh more (though our mass would not increase)

 

[Vax]

would it really make it's way through the earth? what would this look like to us?

 

[tpeezy]

I know its pretty much impossible I was just curious if the ground could hold it or if it would go to the center of the earth, but you pretty much answered my question. Is there any way after lets say a supernova that a small meteor of neutron star material could ever hit earth? My guess is probably not but I was just curious.

 

[Vax]

Well it is possible to have a "Thimble of matter from a neutron star" but it is very unlikely that a supernova would send matter from a neutron star our way, considering that a supernova occurs before the star is considered a neutron star. I would think that any mass ejected in the supernova would be normal matter from the star, before it is a neutron star. On top of that our chances of that are slim to none, considering the closest neutron star is thought be between 250 to 1000 light-years away. On top of that the mass of a neutron star is so large that it would be hard for it's matter to just escape and wander the universe.

We could get a grain of matter from a neutron star, but The mass of a neutron star is so large that it would be hard for it's matter to just escape and wander the universe. So we know the chances are very low. I just really want to know if you would physically see the matter of the neutron star sink through the earth (if it was big enough to see).

 

[origin]

Is there any way after lets say a supernova that a small meteor of neutron star material could ever hit earth? My guess is probably not but I was just curious.

The typical size of a neutron star is on the order of 10 km. When compared to an asteroid this is not terribly large as asteroids go. Clearly this would be a large metorite though. It is on the order of the chunk of rock that took out the dinosaurs. The reason I bring this up is because in the event that a supernova in not symetrical it will eject the neutron star at great speeds.

So while you would not get a small meteorite of neutron star material hitting the earth you could get an entire neutron star hitting earth (though it is EXTREMELY unlikely). This would ruin your whole day. It would pass right through the earth without slowing down and shock wave would probably blow apart the planet.

 

[Saiph]

such an impact would obliterate the planet. It's one of the few things I can think of that actually has enough energy to do something like that.

A neutron star is about twice as massive as the Sun! Even just passing through the solar system would mean our orbit is horribly skewed, and likely with lethal consequences.

 

[michaelmozina]

Well it is possible to have a "Thimble of matter from a neutron star"

Well, technically, maybe not. There does seem to be a minimum size limit at which point they become unstable. A single thimble full of material would likely decay into protons and electrons pretty quickly (~10 minutes). It wouldn't likely have any effect on Earth if a thimble full of it hit the atmosphere. The scenario that Origin mentions however would not be fun.

 

[kg]

I know its pretty much impossible I was just curious if the ground could hold it or if it would go to the center of the earth, but you pretty much answered my question. Is there any way after lets say a supernova that a small meteor of neutron star material could ever hit earth? My guess is probably not but I was just curious.

Material with the density of a neutron star would pass straight through miles of solid rock like a cannonball passing through a cloud.

 

[Flatland]

Wouldn't that "thimble" of neutron star begin to rapidly expand as there is no longer sufficient gravity to hold it together?

 

[SpeedFreek]

Wouldn't that "thimble" of neutron star begin to rapidly expand as there is no longer sufficient gravity to hold it together?

Here is a discussion about this subject I was involved in on another forum. An interesting read, but I'm not sure about the conclusion!

 

[Saiph]

My understanding of degenerate matter says that it would not begin expanding once you remove the gravity. Degenerate matter requires energy to be put into the system before the state can change.

Sorta like how you can't raise the temperature of ice water until all the ice is melted.

But i've yet to read a satisfactory discussion on the subject, and I'll be the first to admit I'm to lazy to go looking for a definitive answer at the time being.

 

[michaelmozina]

Wouldn't that "thimble" of neutron star begin to rapidly expand as there is no longer sufficient gravity to hold it together?

Yes, at least in theory. There is some evidence that neutrons actually have inner and outer negatively charged shells with a positive layer sandwiched in between. They therefore tend to be repulsive to some degree which keeps them from imploding during supernova events. In a supernova event they can be "squished together' and then stay together by gravity, but if the star deteriorates over time, it will eventually decay to a point of becoming unstable. Theoretically such a small amount of material would tend to decay back into protons and electrons in approximately 10 minutes or so. Any contact with an atmosphere or other matter would tend to speed up the decay process.

 

[ILUVSPACCE]

Thats such a fun question to think about.

 

[SpaceTas]

Now if you turn the question around to dropping ordinary matter onto the neutron star.
About half the rest mass is released as energy. Much more efficient than nuclear fusion.

 

[lukman]

Movie about a chunck of brown dwarf hitting moon and earth.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1227637/plotsummary