Harvesting Neutron Stars (A thought experiment)

[ihwip]

I was trying to imagine a celestial race that was pretty much infinitely advanced yet still bound by physics as we know them. Imagine this race could make insanely large constructions in space. I propose a challenge:

How would one construct a device or group of tandem devices that would be able to siphon the mass of a neutron star, white dwarf or other dense object (excluding the singularities of black holes) without actually landing on the surface?

Is it possible?

I am imagining an exotic construct of orbiting masses that create tidal forces strong enough to reduce escape velocity to near zero. That's all I can come up with though.

 

[origin]

I was trying to imagine a celestial race that was pretty much infinitely advanced yet still bound by physics as we know them. Imagine this race could make insanely large constructions in space. I propose a challenge:

How would one construct a device or group of tandem devices that would be able to siphon the mass of a neutron star, white dwarf or other dense object (excluding the singularities of black holes) without actually landing on the surface?

Is it possible?

I am imagining an exotic construct of orbiting masses that create tidal forces strong enough to reduce escape velocity to near zero. That's all I can come up with though.

If mankind was able to generate enough power to move a neutron star to an orbit around a planet; then there would be no point in wasting our time acutally moving a neutron star, with that kind of power we could do whatever we wanted.

 

[kg]

This has been talked about here before. I seem to recall that any material that came from the surface of a neutron star would expand very rapidly and emit lots of radiation. I'm not sure how this would be of use to anyone.
I think I read somewhere that in some simulations when two neutron stars collide a small amout of material might splash away and not get sucked into the black hole that forms. This could be your best bet for getting anything off a black hole.

 

[bdewoody]

For me to spend any time on a thought experiment it has to have a purposeful goal. What would be the point of your experiment?

 

[thebigcat]

This has been talked about here before. I seem to recall that any material that came from the surface of a neutron star would expand very rapidly and emit lots of radiation. I'm not sure how this would be of use to anyone.

I can think of a few uses for something like that, none of them very friendly.

 

[Vax]

I think if they were actually trying to extract material from a neutron star it would have to be for something other than sole interest. A teaspoon of "dust" from a neutron star would weigh enormously, over 20 tons. Not only that, but to move a neutron star, we would have to have an unparalleled knowledge of relativity.

Think of space-time as a giant trampoline. Imagine an object with a super heavy mass at the center pushing down on the trampoline because of it's large gravity, causing objects to react corresponding to the gravity exerted and orbit corresponding to the bend in space-time. On top of that, times the mass by x because the object retains the same mass as it's previous form (when objects are compressed, the affect of gravity is increased. It would more or less be impossible to set up even an exotic mining structure, because of the weight of the matter you would be mining itself. On top of that it doesn't make much sense to orbit a neutron star around a planet. It would be the other way around. The planet would orbit the star.

 

[ZenGalacticore]

[If mankind was able to generate enough power to move a neutron star to an orbit around a planet; then there would be no point in wasting our time acutally moving a neutron star, with that kind of power we could do whatever we wanted.

I'm no physicist, but if we could move a neutron star into orbit around a planet, I believe it would turn out to be the planet orbiting the neutron star.

 

[ihwip]

I never meant for the neutron star to be moved. What I am trying to determine is what a galactic civilization would do to continue expanding once they have assimilated all normal mass and turned the galaxy into a collection of gigantic space stations. I am working out the neutron star aspect because it seems to be the most difficult but possible.

Would it be possible to spin up a neutron star so that its rapid rotation would allow mass to be shed?

 

[Vax]

You would have to spin it exteremely fast. When stars in space collapse down on themselves, retaining the same mass, the affect on gravity is multiplied.

 

[origin]

You would have to spin it exteremely fast. When stars in space collapse down on themselves, retaining the same mass, the affect on gravity is multiplied.

The simple answer would be no - they would not shed mass, there are neutron stars that rotate at up to 600 times per SECOND!

A normal star that has the same mass as a neutron star will have the same gravity. The gravity is not multiplied. Your confusion comes from the fact that the mass is concentrated so you can get closer to the mass where the gravity is higher. The gravity at 1 AU from a neutron star that had the mass of the sun and gravity at 1 AU from the actual sun would be identical.