# Angular Speed of a Pulsar

1. Mar 10, 2005

### elemnt55

A pulsar is a rapidly rotating neutron star that continuously emits a beam of radio waves in a searchlight manner. Each time the pulsar makes one revolution, the rotating beam sweeps across the earth, and the earth receives a pulse of radio waves. For one particular pulsar, the time between two successive pulses is 0.0336 s. Determine the average angular speed (in rad/s) of this pulsar.

i got w= change in theta / change in time
6369/.0336

2. Mar 10, 2005

### dextercioby

What's 6369...?

Daniel.

3. Mar 11, 2005

### scholzie

Are you at RIT? Physics 312?

4. Mar 11, 2005

### Shockwave

Oh, wow! I'm at RIT in Physics 312. Are we classmates?

5. Mar 11, 2005

### elemnt55

no... OU phys 201

6. Mar 12, 2005

### scholzie

The rotation between 2 pulses is 1 revolution = $2\pi$ and the time it takes to make one revolution is $\Delta T=0.0336s$

$$\omega=\frac{\Delta \Theta}{\Delta T}=\frac{2\pi}{0.0336 s}$$

Not sure where you got 6369 from, but the above should give you the right answer.

Last edited: Mar 12, 2005