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Jonny_trigonometry
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Is a neutron star held together mainly by the strong force? Are they dense enough so that this is the case, or is gravity the only thing to consider? What about black holes?
It is called degeneracy pressure. Electron degeneracy pressure keeps a White Dwarf from collapsing further. Add more mass, and this pressure is "overwhelmed" by gravity and it could collapse to a Neutron star. Then, we have neutron degeneracy pressure. Add more mass and we can collapse to a black hole.Jonny_trigonometry said:I just don't see why it would prevent gravity from pulling everything together too much. If it acted in a way as to repel each neutron from the others, then it would prevent gravity from pulling them closer than 10^-15 meters apart, so that if matter was constantly being put into the system, the whole star would have a maximum density for a while until the strong force couldn't repel things enough to overcome gravity and the core would collapse. But this is not how it works as far as i understand.
A neutron star is a highly dense and compact celestial object that is created when a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel and collapses under its own gravity. This collapse causes the star's core to become so dense that protons and electrons combine to form neutrons, resulting in a neutron star.
The strong force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature and is responsible for holding the nucleus of an atom together. In neutron stars, the strong force is responsible for counteracting the immense gravitational force, preventing the star from collapsing further and maintaining its stability.
Neutron stars are incredibly dense, with a typical mass of 1.4 times that of our Sun packed into a sphere with a diameter of only 10 to 20 kilometers. This results in an average density of about 10^17 kg/m^3, making them one of the densest objects in the universe.
No, not all neutron stars become black holes. The ultimate fate of a neutron star depends on its mass. If the neutron star has a mass greater than about three times that of our Sun, it may continue to collapse into a black hole. However, if its mass is less than this critical value, it will remain a neutron star.
Neutron stars have incredibly strong gravitational forces, which makes it difficult for anything to escape. However, some particles, such as neutrinos, can escape the surface of a neutron star. Additionally, some forms of high-energy radiation, such as X-rays, can also escape the star's gravity, but they are heavily distorted in the process.