•• (a) Consider a star with a mass 3 limes that of the sun, a rotational period of 30 days, and an average density equal to that of water (which is a typical density for a star). If the star collapses into a neutron star with a diameter of 10 km, what is the new rotational period? Assume that the original star and the final neutron star both have uniform densities. [Hint: Use conservation of angular momentum.] This calculation produces a higher rotational rate than is actually found in neutron stars — the fastest known pulsar has a period of 1.6 ms. Our calculation is flawed because stars do not have a uniform density. Instead, most of the mass is concentrated near the center. Also, during the final collapse to a neutron star, the outer layers of the star are blown off, carrying away much of the angular momentum. (b) For a neutron star of 10-km diameter, what is the shortest possible period of rotation compatible with the universal speed limit (the speed of light)?
We need at least 10 more requests to produce the solution.
0 / 10 have requested this problem solution
The more requests, the faster the answer.