Neutron stars: good short article

[marcus]

one reason it's good is that it is
written for the Wiley "Encyclopedia of Physics"

http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0503245
Neutron Stars
Gordon Baym, Frederick K. Lamb
Comments: Encyclopedia of Physics 3rd ed., R.G. Lerner and G.L. Trigg, eds., Wiley-VCH, Berlin

Abstract: "This short encyclopedia article, reviewing current information on neutron stars, is intended for a broad scientific audience."

It is only 3 pages and jams a lot of interesting facts about the topic into small space.

It had stuff I didnt know about the crust and about the core. the whole star isn't made just of neutrons. you might find it worth checking out

 

[meteor]

I always enjoy discovering new things about monsters of the kind of neutron stars. In this occasion, the thing that is new to me is the concept of "neutron drip point", that is, the point where the density of neutrons is so high that not all can be accommodated in the nuclei and some become free

Gotta love the articles like that, direct and to the point

 

[turbo]

For a nice entry-level lecture on white dwarves, neutron stars and black holes by Walter Lewin, click here and scroll down a little way.

http://www.physics.northwestern.edu/pub_lectr/public_lectures.html

IIR, he says that a marsmallow dropped onto the surface of a neutron star will arrive at a substantial fraction of the speed of light and will release as much energy as the Hiroshima A-bomb.

 

[Chronos]

I always suspected marshmallows were not as innocuous as they appear. Neutron stars are indeed bizarre denizens. Physicists would love to know goes on in the core. There is some speculation the core is actually a quark star.

 

[turbo]

I always suspected marshmallows were not as innocuous as they appear. Neutron stars are indeed bizarre denizens. Physicists would love to know goes on in the core. There is some speculation the core is actually a quark star.

I imagine that a pickled squirrel head (much more massive than a marshmallow, you must agree) would release energies greater than the total of the military arsenals of many countries. I am going to report you to the U.S. head of Homeland Security, since it is by now obvious that you are a serious threat to the continued existence of the Earth. It is obvious now why you have been hoarding pickled squirrel heads, instead of sending them to me for family get-togethers, etc. The only remaining component you need now to complete your doomsday machine is a neutron star!