Neutron stars, such as the one at the center of the Crab Nebula, have about the

Question

Neutron stars, such as the one at the center of the Crab Nebula, have about the same mass as our sun but a much smaller diameter.

Part A

If you weigh 680 N on the earth, what would be your weight on the surface of a neutron star that has the same mass as our sun and a diameter of 16.0 km ?

Take the mass of the sun to be ms = 1.99×1030 kg , the gravitational constant to be G = 6.67×1011 Nm2/kg2 , and the acceleration due to gravity at the earth's surface to be g = 9.810 m/s2 .

Express your weight wstar in newtons.

Explanation / Answer

Radius of the neutron star, R = (16 * 103 / 2) m = 8000 m

Weight on the star, Wstar = GMstarm/R2 = GMsun(Wearth/g) / R2 = GMsunWearth/gR2

=> Wstar = (6.67 * 10-11) * (1.99 * 1030) * 680 / (9.810 * 80002) = 1.44 * 1014 N

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse N
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.