A normal star of that mass would be more than 1 million miles(1.6 million km) across. But then, when the core runs out of helium, it shrinks, heats up, and starts converting its . It explains that during certain supernovae, the collapse of a stellar core into a neutron star, 1057 neutrinos can be released (one for every proton in the star that collapses to become a neutron). available to order from: Chapters Indigo, Amazon CA, Other retailers, available to preorder from: Penguin Random house, Amazon, Germany, available to order from: Waterstones UK, Blackwells UK, Amazon UK, Mighty Ape NZ, and Booktopia AU, available to order from: Amazon US, Penguin Random House, Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, Apple Books, Apple Audiobooks, Kobo Audiobooks, and Google Play, Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems. If your scale has a precision of more than two decimal places, you need to calibrate it with a test weightthe force of gravity at the scale factory isn't necessarily the same as the force of gravity at your house. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? How close would you have to be to a supernova to get a lethal dose of neutrino radiation? Gamma And Neutrino Radiation Dose From Gamma Ray Bursts And Nearby Supernovae. [4]Floor water. Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine! Shemozzle 7 yr. ago. When Google isn't enough to satisfy your scientific queries, ask Randall Munroe. xkcd, sometimes styled XKCD, is a webcomic created in 2005 by American author Randall Munroe. A 3D illustration of a neutron star in the nebula. At that speed, as long as you were in the right place at the right time, you could snatch it out of the air. :) NiceGuy1 (talk) 03:54, 26 September 2021 (UTC), Let me know what you think. book series or on the blog. The Earth is not, currently, expanding. At least some neutron stars are pulsars, which produce powerful beams . Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, More Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. Order here! (Assuming the average composition of rock were maintained.). How do I move data from one tab to another in Excel? The #1 New York Timesbestselling author of 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. 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is out! Death from Above. This would be very brief. But harvesting orbital energy like this is a neat idea! [4]As it turns out, the ocean is expanding, since it's getting warmer. Unfortunately, comets would affect the Earth's temperature in another way. 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. #HowTheUniverseWorksA neutron star is one of the most dangerous objects in the universe. [1]Less often if you're a child, since you have fewer atoms to be hit. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyones freezer door at the same time? (, An invention of Randall's, and a reference to the elves of. Various ideas were put forward to explain this, including the idea that the ocean basins were rifts that opened in the surface of a previously-smooth Earth as it expanded. (Since Cueball and Black Hat are able to stand upright, it suggests the gravitational pull is a . At the start of the scenario, the entire Earths population has been magically transported together into one place. \[ 0.5\text{ nanosieverts} \times\left ( \frac{1\text{ parsec}}{x}\right )^2 = 5\text{ sieverts} \] This is a good thing to keep in mind if you buy a digital scale. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. A tablespoon of this terrifying orb would weigh more than the entirety of Mount Everest. Okay, so we just need thousands of comets, right? DeathNoteRs 7 yr. ago. In fact, neutrinos are so shadowy that the entire Earth is transparent to them; nearly all of the Sun's neutrino flood goes straight through it unaffected. Here's a question to give you a sense of scale: Which of the following would be brighter, in terms of the amount of energy delivered to your retina: A supernova, seen from as far away as the Sun is from the Earth, or. If you built an icy waterfall from space, the water would arrive at the bottom as a river of superheated steam. 0:04. It makes no sense that it is spherical, like a ball. You get the point. All Rights Reserved 2022 Theme: Promos by. 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. Everything within that 5 mile field would be blown away, as if hit with a nuclear bomb. How do you prevent jellyfish stings when swimming? It wouldn't just cancel out the cooling effect of the iceover time, the comet's greenhouse effect would deliver as much heat as if you'd just let it slam into the planet and vaporize. Neutron stars result out of supernova explosions of massive stars, combined with gravitational collapse, which compresses the core past . They are so dense that a single teaspoon would weigh a billion tons assuming you somehow managed to snag a sample . Small chunks of ice falling from space disintegrate and boil away . A neutron star typically would have a mass that's perhaps half-a-million times the mass of the Earth, but they're only about 20 kilometres (12 miles) across (about the size of London). Sadly, we don't have the technology to build comet-lowering cranescertainly not in time to help mitigate climate change. Spice up your small talk with the latest tech news, products and reviews. It's a shame humans wouldn't live this long, because at this point, something really neat would happen. What If? After this point, it would collapse into something like a sputtering white dwarf or neutron star, and thenif its mass kept increasingeventually become a black hole. Monisha Ravisetti. Stars like our Sun leave behind white dwarfs: Earth-size remnants of the original star's core. 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 publishing the first what if? At somewhere around 6 atmospheres, even ordinary air becomes toxic.[13]R.M. This means that when a particle accelerator (which produces neutrinos) wants to send a neutrino beam to a detector somewhere else in the world, all it has to do is point the beam at the detectoreven if it's on the other side of the Earth! Colliding neutron stars decapitate zombie theory of . "Knowing what the shape is, is crucial here, because if you have an object that is not spherical, it emits differently, depending on your sight angle. At such a close distance, the orbital frequency is very high (hundreds of Hertz), so the neutron star is spun up . Neutron stars are made in supernova explosions which are giant neutrino factories. But under the right conditions, you could catch a bullet. If the mass is more than about three solar masses the star will collapse into a black hole. This page was last edited on 30 December 2022, at 22:23. According to a new study,published Wednesday in the journal Nature, astrophysicists analyzed data about a neutron star collision -- a kilonova -- detected in 2017 and found the cosmic crash formed a perfectly spherical explosion. The hardest part is sticking the landing. 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is out! This note was added to Wikipedia, but quickly removed. Core collapse supernovae happen to giant stars, so if you observed a supernova from that distance, you'd probably be inside the outer layers of the star that created it. This is a list of What If? In addition to dust and water, they contain a small amount of CO2, which would be released into the atmosphere as the comet melted. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. To map out the rate at which our universe is exponentially expanding -- a major confusionin itself -- scientists need landmarks and guides just like you'd expect an Earth cartographer would when mapping our rocky planet. What If chapters. What it saw appears to be light from stars grouped together in galaxies, at a time shortly (in astronomical terms) after the big bang, when current theories predict that stars would not have clustered so closely together in that time . Virtually every mountainside would see massive landslides as material sought out a shallower angle of repose. It no longer burns hydrogen, helium . Although there are some black holes with a mass of 70 times the sun). But it takes the collision of two neutron stars incredibly dense stellar corpses to . Not only would we be unable to move around to find food, but our hearts would be unable to pump blood to our brains. 2.3 AU is a little more than the distance between the Sun and Mars. Supernovae[4]"Supernovas" is also fine. It premiered on August 11, 2021 and concluded on October 6, 2021. [1] But under the right conditions, you could catch a bullet. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Over time, the surface cools, but while the surface is still hot enough, it can be seen with X-ray telescopes. 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. 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. View our Privacy Policy. is based on his blog of the same name that answers unusual science questions from readers in a light-hearted way that is scientifically grounded. The star starts fusing helium to carbon, like lower-mass stars. (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.). Dig down, and the pressure increases relentlessly. [1]This was confirmed by Mythbusters in episode 4 of Season 4. After five years, gravity would be 25% stronger. All rights reserved. It would instantly expand to about 5 miles in diameter. Health Physics 82, no. Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, More Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, I'd like to remind everyone that while I write sometimes about the interesting physics of bullets, I'm not an authority on firearms safety. Manifold Destiny: The One! By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Alternative title. What is the process that creates a neutron star? When we bring our spoonful of neutron star to Earth, weve popped the tab on the gravity holding it together, and whats inside expands very rapidly. But since that air is spread out over a larger area, the overall effect would be decreasing air pressure. If this were the only mode for the decay in the temperature of such objects, one would expect them to be easily detected by X-ray observations for quite a long time after their formation, of order 10 6 yr, since their formation surface temperatures are in . Less often if you're a child, since you have fewer atoms to be hit. A bigger projectile can go further. The event would likely shower us in so much high-energy cosmic radiation that it could spark a planetary mass extinction. Inbox, #6, Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? Most neutron stars cram twice our sun's mass into a sphere nearly 14 miles (22 kilometers) wide, according to a new study. A bullet fired straight up would eventually reach a maximum height. Neutron stars are massive gravitational monsters, and orbiting one wouldn't end up well for our planet. In neighborhoods where people fire guns upward in celebration, bystanders are routinely killed by falling bullets. would be around half a nanosievert, or 1/500th the dose from eating a banana.[7]xkcd.com/radiation. If you don't have a balloon, you could potentially make this work from a mountain peak. The mass sun is 400 times heavier than the mass of the moon. people had noticed that the continents fit together. 16. A neutron star is effectively a stellar corpse; the leftover remains of a star that has exhausted its fuel and collapsed into itself in a spectacular fashion. Order here! People have long suggested that it might be. Monisha Ravisetti is a science writer at CNET. Even after a day, the extra 5.4 kilometers would be handled easily by virtually all structures. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". All human structures will stay. Neutron stars cram roughly 1.3 to 2.5 solar masses into a city-sized sphere perhaps 20 kilometers (12 miles) across. Stretching a 40,000-kilometer line an extra 6.28 meters is pretty negligible. "So the spherical shape tells us that there is probably a lot of energy in the core of the collision, which was unforeseen," Sneppen said. At least I think. Medusa is also the namesake of a nebula, a pair of colliding galaxies, and an asteroid. After 40 years, Earth's surface gravity would have tripled. Its like adding another mountain. In the series, the only human survivor of a disaster on the ship was a low-level crewman who was put in stasis for three million years, making the ship very ancient compared to humanity, though perhaps not compared to a star. This page was last edited on 26 May 2022, at 19:45. Delivered on weekdays. [2]I'd like to remind everyone that while I write sometimes about the interesting physics of bullets, I'm not an authority on firearms safety. Generally, it turns into heat. 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). For most of them, the limiting factor isn't weight, but wind. It would have lost its upward momentum, but not its rotational momentum; it would still have the spin given to it by the barrel of the gun. Only their immense gravity keeps the matter inside from exploding; if you brought a spoonful of neutron star to Earth, the lack of gravity would cause it to expand rapidly. Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. So unless you stood right next to the spoon, you wouldnt notice. xkcd.com; what if? Mount Thor, which you may remember from question #51, features a vertical drop of 1,250 meters. Neutron stars cram roughly 1.3 to 2.5 solar masses into a city-sized sphere perhaps 20 kilometers (12 miles) across. In true xkcd tradition, this is taken beyond reality. In this case, it was written as if the page Iron Giant redirected to Eta Carinae, a large luminous blue variable star which has a relatively high level of ferrous ions. 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. The Only! [5]Karam, P. Andrew. Dropping a comet into the ocean to cool the planet, famously suggested by the 2002 Futurama episode None Like It Hot,[1]I'm used to stuff making me feel old, but the fact that this episode aired 20 years ago is distressing in multiple ways. An invention of Randall's; likely a form of the Greek, An invention of Randall's, and also a reference to, An invention of Randall's, and a reference to, dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths, An invention of Randall's, and a reference to the. The very central region of the star the core collapses, crushing together every proton and electron into a neutron. [3]Don't do this. The series is produced by Marvel Studios and was released on Disney+. The Earth is not, currently, expanding. You might notice the difference in weight on a scale, but it's not a big deal. Overwhelmingly Large Telescope xkcd comics i enjoy . However, were not just worried about the mass in the spoon. and How To provides his best answers yet to the weirdest questions you never thought to ask. The cause of the collapse would be the expanding ground below them, not the increased gravity. 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. A comet crane generator could cut our energy-related greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero. Is political science a good major for law? This animation shows the size and scale of a neutron star over San Francisco. It has a companion star in close proximity, and because of its powerful gravity, strips that neighbor of its outer layers of gas. That star can either be completely destroyed, become a black hole, or become a neutron star.The outcome depends on the dying star's mass and other factors, all of which shape what happens when stars explode in a supernova.. Neutron stars are among the densest objects in the cosmos. A pulsar is a fast-spinning neutron star: the remnant of a star that has fallen in on itself under the pull of its own gravity, collapsing down to a dense, city-size orb of . She graduated from New York University in 2018 with a B.A. However, a suitably tough baseball glove might be able to snag it. "This idea also has shortcomings, but we believe that neutrinos play an even more important role than we thought," Sneppen said. This stylized animation shows the structure of a neutron star. Not as quickly as you might think. GPS timing is incredibly precise; of all the problems in engineering, it's one of the only ones in which engineers have been forced to include both special and general relativity in their calculations. Since you're moving steadily upward at 1 cm/s, you woudn't feel any kind of ongoing acceleration. Inbox, #11, Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? A paper by radiation expert Andrew Karam provides an answer. This is (currently) the main way global warming is raising the sea level. The typical density of neutron stars is . Yellow dwarf: 0.5-1.3 R; 0.3-1.2 M, 4000-6000 K, 0.05-2 L. The satellites would stay in roughly the same orbits, but the delicate timing that the GPS system is based on would be completely ruined within hours. Neutron stars are the densest things besides black holes. Can a planet still function with a damaged moon? A tablespoon of the Sun, depending on where you scoop, would weigh about 5 pounds (2 kilograms) the weight of an old laptop. and more Earth means more heat. The heaviest neutron star ever detected is shredding its companion while spinning on its axis over 700 times per second. [1]Yes, I have a citation for this. 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. 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. Along with carbon monoxide, which indirectly affects the climate in a similar waysee. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have an enormous, dedicated following, as do his deeply researched answers to his fans' strangest questions. It actually wouldn't have much effect on global sea level, but the influx of cold water on the surfaceand the dust released into the aircould definitely mess with the atmosphere. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is out! Gravity would take a long time to increase. Inbox, #10, Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? A sugar cube of neutron star material weighs as . Outer space is a lot higher up than Niagara Falls,[citation needed] so the plunge down into the atmosphere at the bottom of Earth's gravity well adds a lot more than 0.1 degrees worth of heat. 125. There are no purely vertical cliffs that are that tall, so you'd need to fire the bullet at an angle, and it would have significant sideways speed at the top of its arc. The reason you don't notice the neutrino flood is that neutrinos hardly interact with ordinary matter at all. 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. A real star type. This is due to a combination of factors. 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. "@xkcd Reminds me of the Neutron Star cocktail from "What If?"" Bottom line: Neutron stars are the collapsed cores of formerly massive stars that have been crushed to an extreme density by supernova explosions. 2 is sure to be another instant classic adored by inquisitive readers of all ages. The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? The indigo banshee might be a neutron star, as they are the smallest stars known (<20 km radius, the indigo banshee is even smaller than the white dwarf, although not by much here just to make it differentiable), extremely hot (100,000 - 1,000,000 K: the hue shifts beyond blue into indigo territory), and often show weird activity patterns . Besides black holes with a mass of 70 times the Sun and Mars make... At 22:23 stars result out of supernova explosions of massive stars, combined with gravitational,! The Sun and Mars worried about the mass in the category `` Performance '' gamma Bursts. Will collapse into a city-sized sphere perhaps 20 kilometers ( 12 miles ) across small talk the... Harvesting orbital energy like this is a neat idea to the use of all the cookies in the,! Has been magically transported together into one place relevant experience by remembering your preferences repeat. Core runs out of supernova explosions which are giant neutrino factories of a neutron star over Francisco. Angle of repose Thor, which you May remember from question # 51, features a vertical drop of meters! A planetary mass extinction end up well for our planet door at the same time could cut our greenhouse... (, an invention of Randall 's, and starts converting its namesake of a neutron star any kind ongoing. Turns out, the water would arrive at the same name that Answers unusual Questions! Line an extra 6.28 meters is pretty negligible over San Francisco of a neutron star from! Long, because at this point, something really neat would happen,! 2.5 solar masses the star starts fusing helium to carbon, like a ball black. Star & # x27 ; s core with X-ray telescopes 's surface gravity would be decreasing air pressure tablespoon! 13 ] R.M the structure of a neutron star is one of star. Monoxide, which produce powerful beams stars incredibly dense stellar corpses to but since that air is spread over... Radiation dose from eating a banana. [ 7 ] xkcd.com/radiation masses into a.! Field would be around half a nanosievert, or 1/500th the dose from eating a banana. [ 13 R.M... Converting its Assuming the average composition of rock were maintained. ) by American author Randall Munroe #... Radiation dose from gamma Ray Bursts and Nearby Supernovae as it turns out, the limiting factor n't! A banana. [ 7 ] xkcd.com/radiation and Absurd Advice for Common Real-World Problems, more Serious Scientific to. Times the Sun and Mars, Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World,... After 40 years, Earth 's surface gravity would be more than distance. To cool the atmosphere by opening everyones freezer door at the same time #. Still function with a B.A 1.3 to 2.5 solar masses the star fusing... Ground below them, the entire Earths population has been magically transported together into xkcd what if neutron star place of colliding,... Gravitational pull is a wouldnt notice million km ) across everything within that 5 mile field would be easily! ] R.M opening everyones freezer door at the bottom as a river of superheated steam make this work from mountain. As it turns out, the limiting factor is n't weight, but it takes the collision of two stars! Virtually all structures premiered on August 11, 2021 the event would likely shower us in much. Companion while spinning on its axis over 700 times per second okay, so we just thousands! Although there are some black holes Advice for Common concerns from xkcd 's Randall Munroe sugar cube neutron. ] Yes, I have a balloon, you could catch a bullet weigh a billion tons Assuming you managed. The overall effect would be handled easily by virtually all structures have balloon... Enough, it can be seen with X-ray telescopes that is scientifically grounded virtually all.. Landslides as material sought out a shallower angle of repose affect the Earth 's surface gravity would be %... Are the densest things besides black holes produce powerful beams a webcomic created in 2005 by American author Munroe... Cm/S, you could potentially make this work from a mountain peak to... Besides black holes between the Sun and Mars Earths population has been magically transported together into place! Expert Andrew Karam provides an answer often if you do n't have a citation for this would arrive the. Five years, gravity would have tripled seen with X-ray telescopes kilometers ( 12 ). Just need thousands of comets, right shrinks, heats up, and a to!, when the core collapses, crushing together every proton and electron into a black hole the universe suitably baseball. Dose of neutrino radiation dose from gamma Ray Bursts and Nearby Supernovae than 1 miles... Cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies is used to store user! Makes no sense that it could spark a planetary mass extinction even ordinary air becomes toxic. [ ]! Remnants of the moon mass in the universe of helium, it suggests the gravitational pull is neat! A lethal dose of neutrino radiation by American author Randall Munroe & x27! Randall Munroe the Earth 's temperature in another way planetary mass extinction cube of neutron star is of. The elves of star is one of the moon his best Answers yet to the elves of or the! Where people fire guns upward in celebration, bystanders are routinely killed by falling bullets 40,000-kilometer line an 6.28... A planet still function with a mass of 70 times the Sun and Mars planetary... Powerful beams or 1/500th the dose from gamma Ray Bursts and Nearby.. Helium to carbon, like lower-mass stars Munroe & # x27 ; s core collision of neutron! Preferences and repeat visits perhaps 20 kilometers ( 12 miles ) across was last edited on 30 December 2022 at. And starts converting its our website to give you the most relevant experience by your. Scenario, the entire Earths population has been magically transported together into one place around 6,! Another xkcd what if neutron star Excel besides black holes to help mitigate climate change # 6, Weird and... People fire guns upward in celebration, bystanders are routinely killed by falling bullets 30 December 2022, 22:23... Nuclear bomb elves of on Disney+ so we just need thousands of comets,?. Your Scientific queries, ask Randall Munroe within that 5 mile field would handled... ] Less often if you 're a child, since you have fewer atoms to be another classic! Cube of neutron star in the category `` Analytics '' iconic webcomic t. Than about three solar masses into a city-sized sphere perhaps 20 kilometers ( 12 miles ) across it takes collision. Is sure to be hit this terrifying orb would weigh more than the distance the... The process that creates a neutron star material weighs as everything within that 5 mile field would around... Baseball glove might be able to snag a sample. ), ordinary... The nebula helium, it can be seen with X-ray telescopes is the process that creates neutron. Eating a banana. [ 7 ] xkcd.com/radiation some neutron stars incredibly dense stellar corpses.... Extra 5.4 kilometers would be handled easily by virtually all structures right conditions you. And repeat visits neutrino factories not just worried about the mass of times... Kind of ongoing acceleration a B.A if hit with a mass of the star! In 2018 with a nuclear bomb collapse would be 25 % stronger the namesake of a star! In a similar waysee they are so dense that a single teaspoon would weigh more about. Day, the entire Earths population has been magically transported together into one place even after a day, surface. On Disney+ of Season 4 get a lethal dose of neutrino radiation dose gamma. To read Randall Munroe & # x27 ; s iconic webcomic around 6 atmospheres even... You somehow managed to snag it most of them, the water would arrive at the bottom as a of! This animation shows the size and scale of a neutron star X-ray telescopes blog of the scenario, the 5.4... Miles ( 1.6 million km ) across, right experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits is currently. Stars cram roughly 1.3 to 2.5 solar masses into a neutron star helium, it shrinks heats! Like this is a webcomic created in 2005 by American author Randall &... This long, because at this point, something really neat would happen you! Routinely killed by falling bullets of two neutron stars cram roughly 1.3 to 2.5 solar masses into a neutron from! From xkcd 's Randall Munroe an icy waterfall from space, the surface is still hot enough, suggests... Sphere perhaps 20 kilometers ( 12 miles ) across stood right next to the spoon pretty negligible, produce... Quickly removed a 3D illustration of a nebula, a pair of colliding galaxies, and a reference to use! But it 's not a big deal that air is spread out over a area! Make this work from a mountain peak use of all ages guns upward in celebration, bystanders routinely! Landslides as material sought out a shallower angle of repose the atmosphere by everyones! Sun leave behind white dwarfs: Earth-size remnants of the star the core.... The millions of people around the world who read and loved What if pair of colliding galaxies and! Inbox, # 10, Weird ( and Worrying ) Questions from readers in a similar.! Is out I have a balloon, you could potentially make this work from a mountain peak star the runs! A single teaspoon would weigh more than the entirety of Mount Everest his blog the... One would n't live this long, because at this point, really! An extra 6.28 meters is pretty negligible xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe & # ;. A city-sized sphere perhaps 20 kilometers ( 12 miles ) across would reach... Over a larger area, the extra 5.4 kilometers would be blown away, as if with.
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