The Potential of Neutronium: Creating a Man-Made Neutron Star on Earth

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the theoretical possibility of creating a man-made neutron star or a similar structure on Earth, focusing on the concept of neutronium and the challenges associated with containing free neutrons under pressure. Participants consider the implications of such a creation for gravity manipulation and the exploration of fundamental particles.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that creating a neutron ballast or balloon would require significant advancements in technology to contain free neutrons under extreme pressure.
  • There is a suggestion that simulating the conditions of a neutron star collapse, where protons and electrons merge to form neutrons, could be a pathway to creating neutronium.
  • Others question the feasibility of containing neutrons, noting that they might escape from any vessel due to their interactions with matter, as seen in nuclear reactors.
  • Some participants express curiosity about the potential for creating other dense structures, such as proton stars or even quark-based matter, and the lack of literature on proton-neutron collision or fusion.
  • A later reply highlights the immense pressure required to confine neutronium, suggesting a calculation to illustrate the work involved in such a process compared to global power generation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the feasibility of creating neutronium or similar structures, with various viewpoints on the challenges and implications of such endeavors remaining contested.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the extreme conditions required for neutron confinement, the dependence on gravitational fields, and the unresolved nature of the calculations regarding energy and pressure involved in the proposed processes.

Dfox
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Essentially what would it take to create a man-made neutron ballast/balloon (free neutrons under pressure contained in a vessel )
Essentially a pure neutron star on a small scale.
In larger scale during a stars collapse protons and electrons essentially are forced to occupy the same space acting as a neutron.
How hard would it be to simulate that on Earth ?
Essentially Neutronium, how can we make sustained Neutronium?

Also could the same thing be done with protons instead of neutrons.
Could a proton star exist? Why is there so little literature on Proton Neutron Collision/Fusion?

If humanity could create some kind of super dense element composed entirely of protons or neutrons , it seems to me that essentially we could localize enough mass to do all sorts of quirky things with gravity (bend light etc/create G-distortion fields) and maybe even manipulate time a bit.

I don't get why there is so little going into such concepts, creating a neutron star of sorts would provide humanity with an entire new frontier , like creating a stick to poke the universe and see what its made of.

And why even stop there why not make stars based on quarks or even smaller "particles"? (get rid of the shell that is a neutron altogether), essentially using the yolk of an egg to make more dense matter.

Now that I am looking deeper into it there may even be the potential to create a preon star which would only be 10cm in diameter or so.
How hard could it be for humans to make something 4inches wide for petes sake?
 
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Dfox said:
Essentially what would it take to create a man-made neutron ballast/balloon (free neutrons under pressure contained in a vessel ) ...
A star or at least the same amount of matter in some form, having a total mass which is considerably greater than the mass of our Sun.
Then just let gravity do it's thing.
 
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Dfox said:
How hard could it be for humans to make something 4inches wide for petes sake?
The pressure needed to confine neutronium is on the order of ##10^{35}## pascals. So here's an entertaining exercise: calculate the amount of work done by this pressure in reducing a volume of two liters to one liter (which is the sort of thing we'd have to do to turn ordinary degenerate matter into neutronium). How does that compare with the amount of power generated worldwide in a year?
 
Dfox said:
(free neutrons under pressure contained in a vessel )
This would, in itself, be a hard thing to achieve. Neutrons would not be constrained by a container because they could just pass between the molecules of the material, being unaffected by the interatomic electric fields. I suggest they would leak away very quickly, as they do from a nuclear reactor. The reactor screening just serves to slow them down rather than stop them escaping, I think.
Affaics, the only way to get neutrons to stay in the same place is with a strong gravitational field - which they do react to.
 

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