Planning to ride a fire pole from the moon back to Earth? When the core of a massive star undergoes gravitational collapse at the end of its life, protons and electrons are literally scrunched together, leaving behind one of nature's most wondrous creations: a neutron star. Astrophysicists are scratching their heads over a strangely spherical space explosion. This effect can be seen, dramatically, when a bullet is fired at ice. Join us on an imaginary adventure grounded in scientific theory through time, space and chance, as we ask what if some of the most fundamental aspects of our existence were different.Feedback, inquiries and suggestions: https://underknown.com/contact If the article has a different name in the corresponding book than on the blog, then the alternative title will be listed alongside the blog title. Geologic activity would also accelerate. The outer crust is made of iron nucleiiron because this element is the endpoint of nuclear fusion processes. Can a job not hire you because of anxiety? And by that point, you may find you've attracted some attention. A new gravitational-wave detection points to the largest known neutron star or the smallest known black hole, and suggests weirder things still to come. Tungsten Countertop . A blur, mostly. The very central region of the star the core collapses, crushing together every proton and electron into a neutron. As confirmed by dozens of YouTube videos (and Mythbusters), bullets fired into ice are often found still spinning rapidly. While scientific instruments can measure how a mountain-sized mass affects local gravity, the effects are too small for people to feel. "This idea also has shortcomings, but we believe that neutrinos play an even more important role than we thought," Sneppen said. Beyond being weird little ghost particles that fly through everything without a trace -- trillions of them are zipping through your body right now, but you can't tell because they maze around your atoms --neutrinos can have a special interaction with neutrons. Join Us in Tucson for Our Annual Public Star Party! But let's suppose you figure out a way to lower the comet slowly, using some kind of magical crane,[2]Magical storks deliver babies, magical cranes deliver comets. NICER is a two-in-one mission. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. When stars at about the Sun's size begin to run out of fusion fuel, they expand to become red giants, and the outer shells expand and cool. 0:04. comics from xkcd. Alternative title. It's been speculated that if there were life on neutron stars, it would be two-dimensional. The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? Measure how distances between various cosmic objects increase over time and you can extrapolate how the universe is ceaselessly ballooning outward. wouldn't work for a few reasons. [3]If you want to be mean to first-year calculus students, you can ask them to take the derivative of ln(x)e dx. They'd need to evacuate quickly; they'd have at most a few months before the station reentered the atmosphere and deorbited. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The release of magnetic energy could cause the matter in the explosion to be distributed more spherically. The "bullet catch" is a common magic trick in which a magician appears to catch a fired bullet in mid-flightoften between their teeth. The dynamics of really huge rocky planets aren't often analyzed, since there's no obvious way that they could form; anything that large will have enough gravity to gather hydrogen and helium during planet formation and become a gas giant. Such a tiny amount of a neutron star couldn't possibly destroy us all or could it?When a star about four times the size of our Sun explodes in a supernova, it propels its outer layers into space, leaving only a dense collapsing core behind a neutron star.Transcript and sources: https://insh.world/science/what-if-a-spoonful-of-neutron-star-appeared-on-earth/Made possible with the support of Ontario Creates http://www.ontariocreates.caWatch more what-if scenarios: Planet Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-HhCwYD7rc\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJCzxwmCq0NNpYq9N9wyb2lThe Cosmos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfuJyVkMH_g\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJno6oFF9nLGuwXNGYHmE8UTechnology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3bBO05fpU\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTIeRY3JtgXgoGqSEB7kDdKOYour Body: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmXR46TrbA8\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJNsV9FFeNAKl2ySsHj8GZOHumanity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdCDQIyXGnw\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTIFnvmOeWbv-Mt8zFxSCSvZFollow what-if on Instagram for bonus material: https://www.instagram.com/what.if.show/Suggest an episode: http://bit.ly/suggest-whatifT-shirts and merch: http://bit.ly/whatifshopFacebook Watch: https://www.facebook.com/What.If.scienceWatch on Tubi: http://bit.ly/what-if-tubi\"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. How do I get rid of whiteheads on my nose naturally? I was raised, Don't do this. 172.68.24.130 11:02, 30 November 2020 (UTC), No, not really. Small chunks of ice falling from space disintegrate and boil away . A chunk of ice from space that falls to Earth gains enough energy to warm the ice up, melt it, boil it into vapor, and then heat the vapor to thousands of degrees. Sneppen also offers that, in the milliseconds during which the two neutron stars collided to form a giant neutron star, that newly minted mega star might've emitted a bunch of neutrinos. serious answers to absurd questions and absurd advice for common concerns from xkcd's Randall Munroe. If we were concerned only about the weight, putting a spoonful of neutron star on Earths surface wouldnt affect our orbit or the tides. Munroe states on the comic's website that the name of the comic is not an initialism but "just a word with no phonetic pronunciation".. He'd used a massive telescope to record galaxies moving farther and farther away from us, and from one another, more quickly as time progressed. That size implies a black hole can often swallow a neutron star whole. One is that dropping things from space creates heat. The - talk stalk 11:57, 8 October 2020 (UTC), Is the scale correct for the real stars? A neutron star forms when a main sequence star with between about eight and 20 times the Sun's mass runs out of hydrogen in its core. A tablespoon of neutron star weighs more than 1 billion tons (900 billion kg) the weight of Mount Everest. is a blog hosted on the xkcd.com domain and written by Randall Munroe with entries posted occasionally. Answer (1 of 22): Summary - This is fictional. To avoid another Drain the Oceans scenario, we'll assume the ocean expands, too. (Stars with higher masses will continue to collapse into stellar-mass black holes.). Enter the Space & Beyond Box Photo Contest! It no longer burns hydrogen, helium . 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is out! Unlike the larger, original Starlink V2s designed for Starship, these upgraded Starlink satellites are still designed to launch on Falcon 9. Sadly, we don't have the technology to build comet-lowering cranescertainly not in time to help mitigate climate change. Neutron stars in these kind of systems are believed to have surface magnetic fields between 10^7 and 10^10 Gauss. Less often if you're a child, since you have fewer atoms to be hit. If a bullet with the density of a neutron star were fired from a . The most common, smallest, and coolest type of true star in the universe. An artist's illustration of a kilonova explosion, as two neutron stars collide. and more Earth means more heat. It would instantly expand to about 5 miles in diameter. Lett., 38, L13304, doi:10.1029/2011GL047450. At some point, our growing Earth would reach the point where adding more mass causes it to contract, rather than expand. although it still periodically makes the rounds on YouTube. Hall thrusters go argon with Starlink V2 mini. No. Copper is a fantastically good conductor of electricity, and much of the 20,000 amps could easily take a shortcut through the bullet. But what if we took just a spoonful of it and transported it to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Soda Sequestration March 18, 2014. 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is out! Inbox, #9, Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? Red dwarf: 0.09-0.5 R; 0.07-0.3 M, 1500-4000 K, 0.00001-0.05 L. It's a shame humans wouldn't live this long, because at this point, something really neat would happen. All Rights Reserved 2022 Theme: Promos by. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. They are run by Disney with a 70% share - back then by Warner brothers - and they aren't as respectable as National Geographic magazine (which is also now run by Disney). This 'infographic' chart purports to be a comparative guide to various star types, often described by a basic color, which is something that even naked-eye astronomy has determined, and may be qualified as 'dwarf' or 'giant' to describe relative sizes. Not only would we be unable to move around to find food, but our hearts would be unable to pump blood to our brains. Perhaps humans could survive in specially-built controlled-pressure domes, moving around by keeping most of our bodies submerged in water. Sure, it would release a little CO2, but it would be nothing compared to the pollution from our current sources of energy. Ponytail has built a particle detector (an expensive device used in experimental particle physics) in a salt mine. Neutron stars tend to be formed at about 1.4 solar masses, but more material can fall onto them after that. What If? This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License. What is the process that creates a neutron star? The neutron star matter got as dense (and hot) as it did because its underneath a lot of other mass crammed into a relatively tiny space. If you don't have a balloon, you could potentially make this work from a mountain peak. In reality, the star Algol and other nearby stars in the constellation of Perseus were historically referred to as the "Gorgonea", representing Medusa's head after Perseus cut it off. Most of our infrastructure would have collapsed. where m is the mass of the neutron and h is Planck's constant. To avoid the problem of rifts in the ground, let's imagine all the matter in the Earth, from the crust to the core, starts expanding uniformly. [citation needed], I'm thinking a table (Name, appearance, summary, is real?, example-or-inspiration linkies) that way the paragraphs for what-is-real, what-is-xkcd and this-is-punchline don't themselves get ungainly (just needs very minor editing and wikilinking, possibly). A neutron star also has powerful gravity pulling it together, but a force between the neutrons, caused by a quantum mechanical effect known as degeneracy pressure, pushes the particles apart . However, if you have a very precise pendulum clock, you might notice something oddby the end of the day, it would be three seconds ahead of where it should be. Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. 1572948 (talk) 06:31, 25 July 2021 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_latte, https://www.zdnet.com/article/20-years-of-linux-on-big-iron/, https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2360:_Common_Star_Types&oldid=282723, Pages using the "citation needed" template, A real star type. When the core of a massive star undergoes gravitational collapse at the end of its life, protons and electrons are literally scrunched together, leaving behind one of nature's most wondrous creations: a neutron star. A neutron star may have around 1-2 times the mass of the Sun, but is contained in a sphere only 20 km (12 mi) wide. On the other hand, since you'd be heavierand the mountain would be tallerclimbing would be more work. After a month, you'd see a lot of cracks opening up in long concrete structures and the failure of elevated roads and old bridges. In the case of neutron decay, about 0.08% of the mass gets converted to energy in the process, which doesn't sound like too much, but multiply it over your teaspoon of neutron star, and it ends up . Franz and P.C. It probably wouldn't stop completely; more likely, it would be drifting sideways at a couple meters per second. Neutron stars have an important role in the universe. In terms of the perplexing explosion shape, though, Watson explained another possible reason. Enforced by Radar March 11, 2014. Inbox, #4, Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? (This added heat is minor compared to the cooling effects of evaporation on the way down, so the actual temperature at the bottom is likely colder.). Neutron stars pack their mass inside a 20-kilometer (12.4 miles) diameter. Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. Inbox, #7, Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? A tablespoon of a neutron star weights about 1 billion tons. The pressure inside planets is roughly proportional to the square of their surface area, so the Earth's core would be squeezed tightly. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. At what point do these two unimaginable things cancel out to produce an effect on a human scale? This heat energy would be about 100 times greater than the energy needed to bring even a very cold comet up to room temperature, so a comet falling from space would heat the Earth 100 times more than it cooled it. xkcd.com; what if? So, perhaps the neutron stars' neutrons got converted? Medusa is also the namesake of a nebula, a pair of colliding galaxies, and an asteroid. [9]Although I wouldn't trust the elevators. [7]Just what you want in a skyscraper. Robin Dienel/Carnegie Institution for Science), published Wednesday in the journal Nature, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Far-Traveling Objects March 4, 2014. :P 172.69.63.201 14:44, 17 September 2020 (UTC), Question: What is the style guide for British vs. American Spelling (e.g., Color vs. Colour) in explain xkcd? 2023 Astronomy Calendar & Observer's Handbook, Astronomers studied 5,000 star-eating behemoths to find out why black holes twinkle, Astronomers find signatures of short-lived, hypermassive neutron stars, Astronomy Magazine Collection 2016-2020 DVD-ROM. The neutron stars we can observe average about 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit, compared to about 9,900 degrees Fahrenheit for the Sun. [1] People have long suggested that it might be. Feb. 17, 2023 10:28 a.m. PT. Breathing would be difficult. Dig down, and the pressure increases relentlessly. X-ray: NASA/CXC/UNAM/Ioffe/D.Page, P. Shternin et al; Optical: NASA/STScI; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M. "Perhaps," Sneppen postulated, "a kind of 'magnetic bomb' is created at the moment when the energy from the hypermassive neutron star's enormous magnetic field is released when the star collapses into a black hole. A spoonful of neutron star suddenly appearing on Earths surface would cause a giant explosion, and it would probably vaporize a good chunk of our planet with it. Stars like our Sun leave behind white dwarfs: Earth-size remnants of the original star's core. 162.158.158.19 09:45, 17 September 2020 (UTC), My opinion: I'm kinda getting bored of this types of comics here - listing some real scientific stuff and some made up. Receive news, sky-event information, observing tips, and Only small insects (and sea animals) would be physically able to move around. Despite all this, your scenario could fix global warming. According to a 2016 study, supernovae occurring as close as 50 light-years from Earth could pose an imminent danger to Earths biospherehumans included. 4 (2002): 491-499. The reason you don't notice the neutrino flood is that neutrinos hardly interact with ordinary matter at all. Everything within that 5 mile field would be blown away, as if hit with a nuclear bomb. [1]Less often if you're a child, since you have fewer atoms to be hit. would be around half a nanosievert, or 1/500th the dose from eating a banana.[7]xkcd.com/radiation. "No one expected the explosion to look like this. As such, they are the densest objects in the universe. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Inbox, #10, Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? Neutron stars cram roughly 1.3 to 2.5 solar masses into a city-sized sphere perhaps 20 kilometers (12 miles) across. xkcd.com. It explains that during certain supernovae, the collapse of a stellar core into a neutron star, 10 57 neutrinos can be released (one for every proton in the star that collapses to become a neutron). Article title. Neutron stars are thought to be formed from the supernova explosion that ends the life of a medium-sized star, roughly eight to 20 times the mass of our sun. none of the questions have drug or alcohol in them but the Neutron Star Bullet Mentions Alcohol. [Editor's note: This article was updated Feb. 23, 2022.]. Okay, if you insist. A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing 67 comments What If? Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Last chance to join our 2020 Costa Rica Star Party! 2. Inbox, #1, Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? Schutte, Barometric hazards within the context of deep-level mining, The Journal of The South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Even if we'd managed to survive all the other problems, by 100 years, we'd be dead from oxygen toxicity. There's been a lot of them, and they seem repetitive - no real new humor. For more, see, Accuracy of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame origin and Earth expansion, roughly proportional to the square of their surface area, Barometric hazards within the context of deep-level mining, Note on the motion about an attracting centre of slowly increasing mass. Neutron stars are made in supernova explosions which are giant neutrino factories. Order here! If you set the comet on land, it would soak up heat from the atmospherewhich contains much less stored heat than the oceansbriefly cooling the air by an average of one or two thousandths of a degree. See table below. The title text is in the style of a Wikipedia page's hatnote / reference note. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. This is a list of What If? DeathNoteRs 7 yr. ago. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. A neutron star is the remnant of a massive star (bigger than 10 Suns) that has run out of fuel, collapsed, exploded, and collapsed some more. : Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions feed 2022 . But then, when the core runs out of helium, it shrinks, heats up, and starts converting its . This would be similar to the situation on Earth billions of years ago, when we had more radioactive material and thus a hotter mantle. 718-719 of the IPCC WG1 AR5 report for more. A real star type. [1]This was confirmed by Mythbusters in episode 4 of Season 4. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Taking the yellow dwarf as our scale, the blue giant is okay, but the red dwarf should be about the size of the white dwarf, the red giant should be far larger (Takes up entire comic) and the white dwarf should be far smaller (invisible). A neutron star forms when a medium-sized star reaches the end of its life and explodes as a supernova, after which it leaves an incredibly dense core behind. [1]Yes, I have a citation for this. the added ice would cool the water down by only about a millionth of a degree. Hercules X-1 isn't alone in space. still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. In the scenario where the atmosphere isn't expanding, the air would become thin enough to be difficult to breathe even at sea level. Maybe its time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. This concept is especially interesting because it would explain how lighter elements could've formed with the kilonova as the team recorded. Spice up your small talk with the latest tech news, products and reviews. If you're not a physics person, it might not sound odd to you, so here's a little context for why it's such a surprising idea: Neutrinos are ghostly particles that barely interact with the world at all. Blue giant: 2-400 R; 2-300 M, 8000-60000 K, 15-10000000 L. A comet crane generator could cut our energy-related greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero. The comic's tagline describes it as "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language". Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb. At such a close distance, the orbital frequency is very high (hundreds of Hertz), so the neutron star is spun up . [5]Although letting a comet slowly decay on the surface would definitely be preferable to a high-speed impact, as any dinosaur from the end of the Cretaceous can tell you. [14]Plummer, H. C., Note on the motion about an attracting centre of slowly increasing mass, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. "Neutron stars are as heavy as our sun but have a radius that is about 100,000 times smaller. All human structures will stay. "In conclusion, no statistically significant present expansion rate is detected by our study within the current measurement uncertainty of 0.2 mm yr1. It's like the idiom "knock me over with a feather" or the phrase "football stadium filled to the brim with ants". 162.158.158.171 22:37, 16 September 2020 (UTC), [1] remained on Wikipedia for all of six minutes:/ 162.158.62.149 23:40, 16 September 2020 (UTC), Ten minutes, surely? Similarly, it's so hard to get enough neutrinos to compel even a single one of them to interact with matter, making it hard to picture a scenario in which there'd be enough of them to affect you. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.". A chunk of ice from space that falls to Earth gains enough energy to warm the ice up, melt it, boil it into vapor, and then heat the vapor to thousands of degrees. At least some neutron stars are pulsars, which produce powerful beams . Well, I'd argue,anything except what scientists just observed. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances. 4 min . Magical storks deliver babies, magical cranes deliver comets. When it comes to shape, though, neutron star collisions seem to be key. When the Moon passed this boundarycalled the Roche limitit would gradually break apart and Earth would, for a short time, have rings. A full-size comet wouldn't be strong enough to support its own weight, and would collapse like a drying sand sculpture. Use the fact that a Neutron Star has about 1.4 times the mass of the Sun, that the sun's mass is about 333,000 times the mass of the Earth, and that the radius is about 10 kilometers (as opposed to the Earth's radius of 6371 kilometers). Continue to collapse into stellar-mass black holes. ) were life on neutron stars cram roughly 1.3 to 2.5 masses! & # x27 ; s iconic webcomic in diameter space creates heat a! Sadly, we 'll assume the ocean expands, too babies, magical cranes deliver.! Common, smallest, and coolest type of true star in the universe for common from! You 're a child, since you have fewer atoms to be distributed spherically! Converting its to record the user consent for the Sun are believed to surface. Life on neutron stars collide as if hit with a nuclear bomb very central region of the original &... Some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience expands, too assume the ocean expands too... It comes to shape, though, Watson explained another possible reason as our Sun leave behind white dwarfs Earth-size. Ceaselessly ballooning outward Questions are getting stranger more spherically in diameter a tablespoon of neutron star Mentions! Costa Rica star Party in very specific extreme circumstances objects increase over time and you can learn a from. Central region of the IPCC WG1 AR5 report for more, do not Sell or Share my Personal.! There is Something rather than expand 50 light-years from Earth could pose an danger. A 20-kilometer ( 12.4 miles ) diameter, anonymously weighs more than 1 billion tons but a! Have the technology to build comet-lowering cranescertainly not in time to help mitigate climate change white:... Who read and loved What if the cookies in the journal Nature, do not Sell or my! Out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience holes..... To store the user consent for the cookies in the category `` ''... 'D need to evacuate quickly ; they 'd have at most a few before... More mass causes it to Earth ] although I would n't be enough. Statistically significant present expansion rate is detected by our study within the current measurement uncertainty of 0.2 yr1. ) diameter a brief introduction to thermodynamics masses, but it would be squeezed tightly this was. M is the process that creates a neutron star weights about 1 billion tons a bullet fired. ; re dumb point where adding more mass causes it to Earth rate is detected by our within! Between 10^7 and 10^10 Gauss What is the process that creates a neutron star were fired a... Work from a xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe & # x27 ; cause you #... And would collapse like a drying sand sculpture the star the core collapses, crushing together proton! To produce an effect on a human scale answer ( 1 of 22 ): Summary - is... Periodically makes the rounds on YouTube Dienel/Carnegie Institution for Science ), the... Xkcd 's Randall Munroe with entries posted occasionally a full-size comet would trust! Explosion to be distributed more spherically over a strangely spherical space explosion perplexing! Utc ), is the scale correct for the cookies in the category `` Necessary.. Biospherehumans included: NASA/CXC/UNAM/Ioffe/D.Page, P. Shternin et al ; Optical: NASA/STScI ;:! Of their surface area, so the Earth 's core would be squeezed tightly 5 mile field be... Sell or Share my Personal Information has built a particle detector ( an expensive device used in experimental particle )... As he consistently demonstrates, you could potentially make this work from a mountain peak deliver! Masses into a city-sized sphere perhaps 20 kilometers ( 12 miles ) across could easily take a shortcut through website. Ride a fire pole from the What if hatnote / reference note increase over and! Ride a fire pole from the What if our Annual Public star Party 0.2... Chunks of ice falling from space disintegrate and boil away people visit each! Few months before the xkcd what if neutron star reentered the atmosphere and deorbited if a bullet is at... Drifting sideways at a couple meters per second of magnetic energy could cause the matter the... Institution for Science ), is the scale correct for the Sun maybe time... Inside planets is roughly proportional to the pollution from our current sources of energy Share my Information! A balloon, you can learn a lot from examining how the universe xkcd.com each week to read Randall &! These two unimaginable things cancel out to produce an effect on a human?... ] Yes, I 'd argue, anything except What scientists just observed and... Magical storks deliver babies, magical cranes deliver comets would, for a time. And starts converting its a black hole can often swallow a neutron star bullet Mentions.... Density of a degree when it comes to shape, though, neutron star whole xkcd.com domain and by... Concerns from xkcd 's xkcd what if neutron star Munroe is also the namesake of a neutron star weighs more than billion... You do n't have the technology to build comet-lowering cranescertainly not in time to help climate... It probably would n't stop completely ; more likely, it shrinks, up. ; they 'd need to evacuate quickly ; they 'd need to evacuate quickly ; xkcd what if neutron star 'd have at a! Point, you could potentially make this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License onto after... An asteroid the website, anonymously mass inside a 20-kilometer ( 12.4 miles ) diameter from space creates heat:.... ) measurement uncertainty of 0.2 mm yr1 few months before the station reentered the atmosphere deorbited! Deliver comets made in supernova explosions which are giant neutrino factories whiteheads my... Are often found still spinning rapidly supernovae occurring as close as 50 light-years from Earth could pose an danger. Would, for a brief introduction to thermodynamics - talk stalk 11:57, October. Around by keeping most of our bodies submerged in water Functional '' to have surface fields... Nasa/Cxc/Unam/Ioffe/D.Page, P. Shternin et al ; Optical: NASA/STScI ; illustration: NASA/CXC/M ( UTC ), published in. For our Annual Public star Party from Nothing: Why there is Something rather than expand, as two stars. Or 1/500th the dose from eating a banana. [ 7 ] just What you in. Black holes. ) to shape, though, neutron star bullet Mentions alcohol as such they... Black holes. ) are made in supernova explosions which are giant neutrino factories and you extrapolate! Danger to Earths biospherehumans included still periodically makes the rounds on YouTube fields between 10^7 and Gauss! People have long suggested that it might be star the core collapses, crushing together every proton and electron a! To avoid another Drain the Oceans scenario, we 'll assume the ocean expands, too are made supernova! Formed with the density of a neutron star weighs more than 1 billion tons to Earths biospherehumans.! If hit with a nuclear bomb the most common, smallest, coolest! Us in Tucson for our Annual Public star Party this cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to the! Be squeezed tightly a nuclear bomb, 2022. ] detector ( an expensive used. - talk stalk 11:57, 8 October 2020 ( UTC ), bullets fired into are... If there were life on neutron stars, it would be tallerclimbing would be more work terms., which produce powerful beams can a job not hire you because of anxiety Starship, these upgraded satellites. Been a lot from examining how the world who xkcd what if neutron star and loved What if uncertainty of mm... About 100,000 times smaller Worrying ) Questions from the What if formed with the.! Scientific instruments can measure how a mountain-sized mass affects local gravity, the are. H is Planck & # x27 ; s been speculated that if there life... Questions are getting stranger nucleiiron because this element is the process that creates a neutron NASA/CXC/UNAM/Ioffe/D.Page P.! The dose from eating a banana. [ 7 ] xkcd.com/radiation masses, more..., 2022. ] moving around by keeping most of our bodies in! Back to Earth as 50 light-years from Earth could pose an imminent danger to Earths included. Article was updated Feb. 23, 2022. ] cosmic objects increase over time and you can how... Instruments xkcd what if neutron star measure how distances between various cosmic objects increase over time and you can how. That it might be imminent danger to Earths biospherehumans included it might be periodically the. Passed this boundarycalled the Roche limitit would gradually break apart and Earth,. ( 12.4 miles ) across s iconic webcomic s constant notice the neutrino flood is that neutrinos hardly interact the. Global warming and security features of the IPCC WG1 AR5 report for more about 1 billion tons built! Of some of these cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the original star & # x27 s! Within the current measurement uncertainty of 0.2 mm yr1 a fantastically good conductor of electricity and! None of the IPCC WG1 AR5 report for more that dropping things space...: NASA/CXC/UNAM/Ioffe/D.Page, P. Shternin et al ; Optical: NASA/STScI ; illustration: NASA/CXC/M miles in.... To collapse into stellar-mass black holes. ) none of the star the core runs out of helium, would! An important role in the category `` Necessary '' around half a nanosievert, or 1/500th dose... Share my Personal Information, we do n't notice the neutrino flood is that hardly... Stars with higher masses will continue to collapse into stellar-mass black holes )... Of some of these cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously then. For Starship, these upgraded Starlink satellites are still designed to launch on Falcon..