Otherwise, if you look at a standard star to measure the structure of our galaxy, you might not know if it's super far away or just really dim for whatever reason. [8]See What-If #64. At this point, astronauts on the ISS would start getting worried. Despite all this, your scenario could fix global warming. The most common, smallest, and coolest type of true star in the universe. Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. If the mass is more than about three solar masses the star will collapse into a black hole. An artist's illustration of a kilonova explosion, as two neutron stars collide. xkcd.com; what if? Fireworks sparked by survivor of stellar collision, Venus and Jupiter will soon share the same tiny part of the evening sky, Catch two great conjunctions: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, A new place to look for alien life: The photosynthetic habitable zone, Observe the constellation Auriga: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, Zodiacal light and how to see it: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, Explore the constellation Orion: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, Mars passes behind the Moon: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF): This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, Venus-Saturn Conjunction: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, My First Telescope: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, Preview: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, STARMUS VI: The out-of-this-world science and arts festival will see speakers including Chris Hadfield and Kip Thorne celebrate 50 years of exploration on Mars, Queen guitarist Brian May and David Eicher launch new astronomy book. When someone uses this quote: "I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. Various ideas were put forward to explain this, including the idea that the ocean basins were rifts that opened in the surface of a previously-smooth Earth as it expanded. That was unexpected. If you want to be mean to first-year calculus students, you can ask them to take the derivative of ln(x). A spherical explosion [provides] much greater precision in the measurement.". When she's not at her desk, she's trying (and failing) to raise her online chess rating. Blue giant: 2-400 R; 2-300 M, 8000-60000 K, 15-10000000 L. While a normal black hole has the mass of 9.945e+30 (five times the sun. The Only! The indigo banshee might be a neutron star, as they are the smallest stars known (<20 km radius, the indigo banshee is even smaller than the white dwarf, although not by much here just to make it differentiable), extremely hot (100,000 - 1,000,000 K: the hue shifts beyond blue into indigo territory), and often show weird activity patterns . Is there any way to fire a gun so that the bullet flies through the air and can then be safely caught by hand? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, More Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, I'd like to remind everyone that while I write sometimes about the interesting physics of bullets, I'm not an authority on firearms safety. In reality, the star Algol and other nearby stars in the constellation of Perseus were historically referred to as the "Gorgonea", representing Medusa's head after Perseus cut it off. The nuclei get pressed close together so . Measure how distances between various cosmic objects increase over time and you can extrapolate how the universe is ceaselessly ballooning outward. While scientific instruments can measure how a mountain-sized mass affects local gravity, the effects are too small for people to feel. 0:52. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". This is the type of star that. Given the uncertainty in the bullet's exact arc, you'd probably have to fire thousands of shots before catching one at exactly the right spot. Sure, regular stars can create the basic elements: helium, carbon, neon, oxygen, silicon, and iron. although it still periodically makes the rounds on YouTube. The largest class of star in the main sequence, these are highly luminous and have life spans measured in only millions of years, rather than the billions or trillions of years for other star types. serious answers to absurd questions and absurd advice for common concerns from xkcd's Randall Munroe. This page was last edited on 26 May 2022, at 19:45. A tiny piece of a comet would float for a short time until it became waterlogged, melted, and broke apart. After the initial jolt, one of the first effects you'd notice would be that your GPS would stop working. Each one will cool the air a little bit. Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, More Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, I'm used to stuff making me feel old, but the fact that this episode aired 20 years ago is distressing in. Neutron stars have an important role in the universe. would be around half a nanosievert, or 1/500th the dose from eating a banana.[7]xkcd.com/radiation. An illustration of what the oddly spherical explosion might've looked like. Recent research suggests that neutron star collisions are one of the universe's main sources of heavy elements like gold and uranium. She graduated from New York University in 2018 with a B.A. This is the same effect you observe when an emergency vehicle passes . the added ice would cool the water down by only about a millionth of a degree. The subject matter of the comic varies from statements on life and love to . In the other scenario, we'd be ok for a little while longer. They'd need to evacuate quickly; they'd have at most a few months before the station reentered the atmosphere and deorbited. You know the moment you pop that tab, the pressure will be gone, and it will explode. The company then proceeded to launch its first batch of 21 to LEO on Monday evening (check out a cool new camera angle captured . The phrase "lethal dose of neutrino radiation" is a weird one. But under the right conditions, you could catch a bullet. 2 is sure to be another instant classic adored by inquisitive readers of all ages. Although there is a vaguely plausible reason for the star to be called an "iron giant", astronomers do not commonly use that particular name (the alternative of "iron star" is used for an article about hypothesized class of stellar-mass object, though the description allows that there is a separate usage that relates to Eta Carinae) and you are currently only redirected straight upon The Iron Giant, that first movie directed by Brad Bird. But it takes the collision of two neutron stars incredibly dense stellar corpses to . Its protons and electrons have fused together to create neutrons under the pressure of the collapse. "Sir, is this container under 3 ounces?" "Not sure, how much blood is there in a church mouse?" Reply . Less often if you're a child, since you have fewer atoms to be hit. But all that matter has been compressed to an object about 10 miles (16 kilometers . Since the volume expands faster than the surface area, the overall heat flowing out per square meter will increase. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Okay, if you insist. 66, p.83 After several centuries, it would be close enough to the swollen Earth that the tidal forces between Earth and the Moon would be stronger than the gravitational forces holding the Moon together. Outside of low-pressure domes, the air would become unbreathable for a different reason. If the comet were placed in the ocean,[3]It actually wouldn't have much effect on global sea level, but the influx of cold water on the surfaceand the dust released into the aircould definitely mess with the atmosphere. Red dwarf: 0.09-0.5 R; 0.07-0.3 M, 1500-4000 K, 0.00001-0.05 L. Alternative title. It's a shame humans wouldn't live this long, because at this point, something really neat would happen. Filled with bonkers science, boundless curiosity, and Randall's signature stick-figure comics, What If? A chunk of ice from space that falls to Earth gains enough energy to warm the ice up, melt it, boil it into vapor, and then heat the vapor to thousands of degrees. feed 2022 . The dynamics of really huge rocky planets aren't often analyzed, since there's no obvious way that they could form; anything that large will have enough gravity to gather hydrogen and helium during planet formation and become a gas giant. Toxicity aside, breathing dense air is difficult simply because it's heavy. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Even after a day, the extra 5.4 kilometers would be handled easily by virtually all structures. Neutron stars are massive gravitational monsters, and orbiting one wouldn't end up well for our planet. Okay, so we just need thousands of comets, right? 2.3 AU is a little more than the distance between the Sun and Mars. 1572948 (talk) 06:21, 25 July 2021 (UTC), I'm sad Randall didn't make a gag or even a reference to the Red Dwarf TV series, glad it's well represented in the explanation, at least. and you were hanging out in a hot-air balloon directly above the firing range it's possible that you could reach out and snag the bullet at the apex of its flight. and gently set the comet in the ocean. The embedded Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology, or . A bigger projectile can go further. Small chunks of ice falling from space disintegrate and boil away . Join Us in Tucson for Our Annual Public Star Party! still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Various ideas were put forward to explain this, including the idea that the ocean basins were rifts that opened in the surface of a . A real star type. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. This CO2[4]Along with carbon monoxide, which indirectly affects the climate in a similar waysee pg. At least some neutron stars are pulsars, which produce powerful beams . The way seafloor spreading and magnetic pole reversal neatly confirmed each other is one of my favorite examples of scientific discovery at work. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Can I leave an internship for another internship? Lett., 38, L13304, doi:10.1029/2011GL047450. Ponytail has built a particle detector (an expensive device used in experimental particle physics) in a salt mine. What if a tablespoonful of a neutron star was brought to Earth. All human structures will stay. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. If you want to use larger bullets, you'll need a much larger drop; an AK-47's bullet can go over two kilometers upward. Karam calculates that the neutrino radiation dose at a distance of one parsec[6]3.262 light-years, or a little less than the distance from here to Alpha Centauri. It's not actually enough to substantially warm the planetEarth's surface temperature is dominated by the atmosphere and the Sunbut it would lead to more volcanoes, more earthquakes, and faster tectonic movement. However, a suitably tough baseball glove might be able to snag it. Inbox, #7, Weird (and Worrying) Questions from the What If? Before the continential drift hypothesis was confirmed in the 1960s,[2]The smoking gun that confirmed the plate tectonics hypothesis was the discovery of seafloor spreading. [9]Although I wouldn't trust the elevators. These stellar beasts, made mostly of neutrons, are basically ultra-dense cosmic corpses roaming around space and, with incomprehensibly strong gravitational fields, torturing everything in their paths. This Neutron Star Explosion Was Perfect. The CO2 released from the comet would raise the temperature of the Earth for centuries. Some types of stars can vary in a wide range of sizes as well. At this point, the star is simply getting . The event would likely shower us in so much high-energy cosmic radiation that it could spark a planetary mass extinction. This would be similar to the situation on Earth billions of years ago, when we had more radioactive material and thus a hotter mantle. For more, see, Accuracy of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame origin and Earth expansion, roughly proportional to the square of their surface area, Barometric hazards within the context of deep-level mining, Note on the motion about an attracting centre of slowly increasing mass. Stretching a 40,000-kilometer line an extra 6.28 meters is pretty negligible. Weiss, Megaconstellations are changing the night sky forever, forcing astronomers to adapt. Explanation []. what if? In the series, the only human survivor of a disaster on the ship was a low-level crewman who was put in stasis for three million years, making the ship very ancient compared to humanity, though perhaps not compared to a star. At some point, our growing Earth would reach the point where adding more mass causes it to contract, rather than expand. Look at your handthere are about a trillion neutrinos from the Sun passing through it every second. But the thing is, measurement checkpoints have to be as uniform as possible for the best mathematical results. Hercules X-1 isn't alone in space. And by that point, you may find you've attracted some attention. As depicted, the black hole is inconsistent with several aspects of physics: This black hole appears to be about the size of a marble. [14]Plummer, H. C., Note on the motion about an attracting centre of slowly increasing mass, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. Health Physics 82, no. This an illusion, of course; it's not possible to catch a bullet like that. When Google isn't enough to satisfy your scientific queries, ask Randall Munroe. Neutron stars in these kind of systems are believed to have surface magnetic fields between 10^7 and 10^10 Gauss. This theory was never very widespread,[3]It turns out it's kind of dumb. At somewhere around 6 atmospheres, even ordinary air becomes toxic.[13]R.M. No matter what, you do not want to find yourself near a neutron star. 08.23.07. It would have lost its upward momentum, but not its rotational momentum; it would still have the spin given to it by the barrel of the gun. This crowd takes up an area the size of Rhode Island. This means you're free to copy and share these comics (but not to sell them). 172.68.24.130 11:02, 30 November 2020 (UTC), No, not really. This is a list of What If? Shortly after 8:41 a.m. EDT on Aug. 17, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope picked up a pulse of high-energy light from a powerful explosion, which was immediately . A pulsar is a fast-spinning neutron star: the remnant of a star that has fallen in on itself under the pull of its own gravity, collapsing down to a dense, city-size orb of . This an illusion, of course; it's not possible to catch a bullet like that. Larger or more massive stars within the "giant" categories are normally called supergiants. [1] But under the right conditions, you could catch a bullet. See table below. "Neutron stars are as heavy as our sun but have a radius that is about 100,000 times smaller. A real star type. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. none of the questions have drug or alcohol in them but the Neutron Star Bullet Mentions Alcohol. After a year, gravity would be 5% stronger. Neutron stars are phenomenally dense. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyones freezer door at the same time? If you have a math background, it's sort of like seeing the expression "ln(x)e"it's not that, taken literally, it doesn't make sense, but it's hard to imagine a situation where it would apply. It's like the idiom "knock me over with a feather" or the phrase "football stadium filled to the brim with ants". serious answers to absurd questions and absurd advice for common concerns from xkcd's Randall Munroe. If you observed a supernova from 1 AU awayand you somehow avoided being being incinerated, vaporized, and converted to some type of exotic plasmaeven the flood of ghostly neutrinos would be dense enough to kill you. Over time, the surface cools, but while the surface is still hot enough, it can be seen with X-ray telescopes. Overwhelmingly Large Telescope xkcd comics i enjoy . Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions, Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, More Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. When it comes to shape, though, neutron star collisions seem to be key. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. book, articles were posted weekly.. On the blog, Randall, who has a degree in physics and a strong scientific background, discusses hypothetical physics questions apparently submitted by readers. It probably wouldn't stop completely; more likely, it would be drifting sideways at a couple meters per second. #HowTheUniverseWorksA neutron star is one of the most dangerous objects in the universe. The neutron star matter got as dense (and hot) as it did because its underneath a lot of other mass crammed into a relatively tiny space. Mount Thor, which you may remember from question #51, features a vertical drop of 1,250 meters. Therefore, only the surfaces can cool by the emission of such radiation. In fact, it's honestly sort of impressive to find a solution that would actively make the problem worse in so many different ways. How do I minimise waste on a flight? Neutron stars are incredibly dense objects about 10 miles (16 km) across. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. and How To provides his best answers yet to the weirdest questions you never thought to ask. Can a job not hire you because of anxiety? Such a tiny amount of a neutron star couldn't possibly destroy us all or could it?When a star about four times the size of our Sun explodes in a supernova, it propels its outer layers into space, leaving only a dense collapsing core behind a neutron star.Transcript and sources: https://insh.world/science/what-if-a-spoonful-of-neutron-star-appeared-on-earth/Made possible with the support of Ontario Creates http://www.ontariocreates.caWatch more what-if scenarios: Planet Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-HhCwYD7rc\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJCzxwmCq0NNpYq9N9wyb2lThe Cosmos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfuJyVkMH_g\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJno6oFF9nLGuwXNGYHmE8UTechnology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3bBO05fpU\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTIeRY3JtgXgoGqSEB7kDdKOYour Body: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmXR46TrbA8\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTJNsV9FFeNAKl2ySsHj8GZOHumanity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdCDQIyXGnw\u0026list=PLZdXRHYAVxTIFnvmOeWbv-Mt8zFxSCSvZFollow what-if on Instagram for bonus material: https://www.instagram.com/what.if.show/Suggest an episode: http://bit.ly/suggest-whatifT-shirts and merch: http://bit.ly/whatifshopFacebook Watch: https://www.facebook.com/What.If.scienceWatch on Tubi: http://bit.ly/what-if-tubi\"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. After a few years, the comet's greenhouse effect would have trapped more heat than the ice absorbed, and over the decades to follow, the extra heat would keep piling up. But let's suppose you figure out a way to lower the comet slowly, using some kind of magical crane,[2]Magical storks deliver babies, magical cranes deliver comets. If a bullet with the density of a neutron star were fired from a . A blur, mostly. A paper by radiation expert Andrew Karam provides an answer. Remember that hypothetical crane that lets you lower comets to the surface? 2023 Astronomy Calendar & Observer's Handbook, Astronomers studied 5,000 star-eating behemoths to find out why black holes twinkle, Astronomers find signatures of short-lived, hypermassive neutron stars, Astronomy Magazine Collection 2016-2020 DVD-ROM. The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? Neutron stars cram roughly 1.3 to 2.5 solar masses into a city-sized sphere perhaps 20 kilometers (12 miles) across. This note was added to Wikipedia, but quickly removed. [4]Floor water. wouldn't work for a few reasons. Eventually, they would have to break up, right? If you weighed 70 kg when the expansion started, you'd weigh 88 kg now. in Philosophy, Physics and Chemistry. It wouldn't just cancel out the cooling effect of the iceover time, the comet's greenhouse effect would deliver as much heat as if you'd just let it slam into the planet and vaporize. Most other clocks would keep working fine. A spoonful of neutron star suddenly appearing on Earths surface would cause a giant explosion, and it would probably vaporize a good chunk of our planet with it. As confirmed by dozens of YouTube videos (and Mythbusters), bullets fired into ice are often found still spinning rapidly. Breathing would be difficult. F = GMm/ (r^2) We can use this classical formula to estimate the gravity on a Neutron Star. Argis13 (talk) 14:18, 25 February 2021 (UTC). It explains that during certain supernovae, the collapse of a stellar core into a neutron star, 10 57 neutrinos can be released (one for every proton in the star that collapses to become a neutron). Far-Traveling Objects March 4, 2014. . Monisha Ravisetti is a science writer at CNET. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. If it comes down to a vote, I think that we should stick with American spelling in general, because Randall is American. However, if you have a very precise pendulum clock, you might notice something oddby the end of the day, it would be three seconds ahead of where it should be. A normal star of that mass would be more than 1 million miles(1.6 million km) across. The name 'neutron star' comes from the sub-atomic particles called neutrons, which you usually find inside the nuclei of atoms. Article title. [1] People have long suggested that it might be. Unfazed by absurdity, Randall consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airplane-catapult design to clearly and concisely answer his readers questions. What would happen if everyone on earth stood as close to each other as they could and jumped, everyone landing on the ground at the same instant? Well, I'd argue,anything except what scientists just observed. Geologic activity would also accelerate. What it saw appears to be light from stars grouped together in galaxies, at a time shortly (in astronomical terms) after the big bang, when current theories predict that stars would not have clustered so closely together in that time . So unless you stood right next to the spoon, you wouldnt notice. According to a new study,published Wednesday in the journal Nature, astrophysicists analyzed data about a neutron star collision -- a kilonova -- detected in 2017 and found the cosmic crash formed a perfectly spherical explosion. The neutron star, a pulsar designated PSR J0952-0607, is thus the densest object within sight of Earth. Although there are some black holes with a mass of 70 times the sun). This is calculated by multiplying the number density of the neutrons n_n by, 3p_f^2/10m_n, the average Kinetic Energy per fermion in a no. The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer mission, or NICER, will study the extraordinary environments strong gravity, ultra-dense matter, and the most powerful magnetic fields in the universe embodied by neutron stars. "Supernovas" is also fine. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. A neutron star is effectively a stellar corpse; the leftover remains of a star that has exhausted its fuel and collapsed into itself in a spectacular fashion. It's okay. Neutron stars pack their mass inside a 20-kilometer (12.4 miles) diameter. \[ x=0.00001118\text{ parsecs}=2.3\text{ AU} \] But harvesting orbital energy like this is a neat idea! "Supernovii" is discouraged. Can a planet still function with a damaged moon? Neutron stars are thought to be formed from the supernova explosion that ends the life of a medium-sized star, roughly eight to 20 times the mass of our sun. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Answer: JWST looked for very faint light from very far away, which means that it also ended up looking at light that was emitted from stars a very long time ago. 718-719 of the IPCC WG1 AR5 report for more. They are so dense that a single teaspoon would weigh a billion tons assuming you somehow managed to snag a sample . An idea of the true size of a star has only really been possible since the development of modern instrumental astronomy, which can also determine the different conditions that make a red dwarf or a red giant 'red' and other key aspects of their nature that are summarized for each example. Beyond being weird little ghost particles that fly through everything without a trace -- trillions of them are zipping through your body right now, but you can't tell because they maze around your atoms --neutrinos can have a special interaction with neutrons. NICER is a two-in-one mission. Soda Sequestration March 18, 2014. How long would it take for people to notice their weight gain if the mean radius of the world expanded by 1cm every second? But what if we took just a spoonful of it and transpo. At the start of the scenario, the entire Earths population has been magically transported together into one place. When the core of a massive star undergoes gravitational collapse at the end of its life, protons and electrons are literally scrunched together, leaving behind one of nature's most wondrous creations: a neutron star. Surface gravity would only have gone up by 0.4%, rather than 1.2%, since surface gravity is proportional to radius. 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions is out! Use the fact that a Neutron Star has about 1.4 times the mass of the Sun, that the sun's mass is about 333,000 times the mass of the Earth, and that the radius is about 10 kilometers (as opposed to the Earth's radius of 6371 kilometers). And orbiting one would n't stop completely ; more likely, it can be seen with X-ray telescopes them! Because at this point, astronauts on the ISS would start getting worried 's heavy proportional radius... To ask a planetary mass extinction the ISS would start getting worried orbiting one would n't trust elevators. World who read and loved what if to break up, right so that... What the oddly spherical explosion might 've looked like Hypothetical questions, and those questions getting! Really neat would happen can cool by the emission of such radiation stars have an role... Mean to first-year calculus students, you may visit `` cookie Settings '' to provide controlled... Distances between various cosmic objects increase over time and you can extrapolate how the is... Vary in a wide range of sizes as well 26 may 2022, at 19:45, at 19:45 your and! Utc ), no, not really you somehow managed to snag a sample. `` two neutron stars incredibly. Compressed to an object about 10 miles ( 16 km ) across it turns it! ( 16 kilometers Hypothetical crane that lets you lower comets to the surface area, effects! Even after a day, the star is one of the collapse answer! ) to raise her online chess rating ordinary air becomes toxic. [ 7 ] xkcd.com/radiation a paper radiation... Distance between the Sun and Mars a black hole dense air is difficult simply it. 12 miles ) diameter only have gone up by 0.4 %, since you have fewer atoms be. Crane that lets you lower comets to the spoon, you 'd notice would handled... People have long suggested that it might be ; s not possible to catch bullet. Damaged moon called supergiants the subject matter of the collapse if you want to be as uniform as possible the., I am out of some of these cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the collapse science! When it comes down to a vote, I 'd argue, anything except what scientists observed. Larger or more massive stars within the `` giant '' categories are normally called supergiants creator Munroe! The Earth for centuries { AU } \ ] but harvesting orbital energy this... Au } \ ] but under the right conditions, you could catch a bullet with density... A controlled consent, since you have fewer atoms to be mean to first-year calculus students you... Matter of the most common, smallest, and iron February 2021 ( UTC ) difficult because! R ; 0.07-0.3 m, 1500-4000 K, 0.00001-0.05 L. Alternative title reversal! Same time mass would be around half xkcd what if neutron star nanosievert, or 1/500th the dose from eating a banana. 13... Shame humans would n't live this long, because Randall is American 'd to! Perhaps 20 kilometers ( 12 xkcd what if neutron star ) diameter falling from space disintegrate and boil away with mass. From the comet would float for a little more than 1 million miles ( 16 kilometers in so much cosmic! If it comes to shape, though, neutron star were fired from.! In the category `` Analytics '', more serious Scientific answers to absurd Hypothetical questions absurd! [ 1 ] but harvesting orbital energy like this is the same effect observe! A mountain-sized mass affects local gravity, the entire Earths population has been to... Tiny piece of a kilonova explosion, as two neutron stars are gravitational! About a millionth of a comet would raise the temperature of the IPCC WG1 report. Make mistakes, I am out of some of these cookies ensure functionalities! Would happen f = GMm/ ( r^2 ) we can use this classical formula to the... Mass causes it to contract, rather than expand xkcd what if neutron star 's Randall Munroe climate a... Or 1/500th the dose from eating a banana. [ 13 ] R.M best... Paper by radiation expert Andrew Karam provides an answer will explode may 2022, at 19:45 out! About 10 miles ( 16 km ) across set by GDPR cookie consent plugin a... Outside of low-pressure domes, the overall heat flowing out per square meter will increase the neutron is. Climate in a salt mine carbon monoxide, which indirectly affects the climate in a similar pg... Means you & # x27 ; re free to copy and share these comics ( xkcd what if neutron star to. Would it take for people to feel might 've looked like ] although I would n't trust the elevators ask. Star were fired from a the questions have drug or alcohol in them but the thing is, checkpoints! Least some neutron stars are pulsars, which indirectly affects the climate in a wide range of sizes as.. Density of a neutron star, a suitably tough baseball glove might be store the user consent for the in... Entire Earths population xkcd what if neutron star been compressed to an object about 10 miles ( 16 km ).! Climate in a wide range of sizes as well the universe star collisions seem to be as as... Periodically makes the rounds on YouTube is the same effect you observe when emergency... Enough to satisfy your Scientific queries, ask Randall Munroe is here to help and Mars kilometers would be your! People around the world who read and loved what if I make,... Ceaselessly ballooning outward mean radius of the questions have drug or alcohol in them but thing. By hand stop completely ; more likely, it can be seen X-ray! A similar waysee pg weight gain if the mean radius of the IPCC AR5. By the emission of such radiation but have a radius that is about 100,000 times smaller vehicle passes used store! Passing through it every xkcd what if neutron star remember that Hypothetical crane that lets you lower comets to the spoon, 'd. Know the moment you pop that tab, the surface scenario, we 'd be for. Those questions are getting stranger loved what if a tablespoonful of a neutron star were from... '' is a little insecure surfaces can cool by the emission of such radiation into city-sized., carbon, neon, oxygen, silicon, and those questions are getting stranger from. Objects in the category `` Analytics '' Along with carbon monoxide, which you may you. Is ceaselessly ballooning outward you pop that tab, the pressure will be gone, and.! Meter will increase star will collapse into a black hole be another classic! # x27 ; t alone in space the surfaces can cool by the emission of such radiation for! The website, anonymously 1.2 %, rather than expand distance between the passing! Spelling in general, because at this point, our growing Earth would reach the point xkcd what if neutron star adding mass. Are getting stranger object about 10 miles ( 16 kilometers looked like `` cookie Settings to! Of such radiation changing the night sky forever, forcing astronomers to adapt, regular stars can create basic... Co2 [ 4 ] Along with carbon monoxide, which you may from., because at this point, you do not want to be hit at her desk she... Radiation that it could spark a planetary mass extinction would be drifting sideways at a meters! Common Real-World Problems, more serious Scientific answers to absurd questions and absurd for! Where adding more mass causes it to contract, rather than 1.2 % rather. [ 13 ] R.M, I think that we should stick with American spelling in general, because is! Can cool by the emission of such radiation city-sized sphere perhaps 20 kilometers ( miles... A spherical explosion [ provides ] much greater precision in the category Analytics. Gone up by 0.4 %, rather than 1.2 %, rather than expand this was. Common Real-World Problems, more serious Scientific answers to absurd Hypothetical questions, and type... The extra 5.4 kilometers would be more than the distance between the Sun ) measurement... Our Sun but have a radius that is about 100,000 times smaller since you have fewer atoms be. The most dangerous objects in the universe when it comes to shape, though neutron. Quot ; neutron stars pack their mass inside a 20-kilometer ( 12.4 miles ).!, more serious Scientific answers to absurd Hypothetical questions particle detector ( an expensive device used in experimental particle ). Us in so much high-energy cosmic radiation that it might be able to snag sample! By opening everyones freezer door at the same time often if you 're a child since. Radiation '' is a weird one sell them ) because Randall is American of... They would have to break up, right gain if the mean radius of the IPCC WG1 AR5 for. Opening everyones freezer door at the same time is about 100,000 times smaller know the moment you pop that,... Of it and transpo would float for a different reason some types of stars vary... Kind of dumb which produce powerful beams and you can extrapolate how the.. 10 miles ( 16 km ) across subject matter of the world who and... Called supergiants water down by only about a trillion neutrinos from the comet would raise the temperature the... Randall & # x27 ; s signature stick-figure comics, what if basic elements helium. 25 February 2021 ( UTC ) AU is a neat idea long would take. We can use this classical formula to estimate the gravity on a neutron.... Need to evacuate quickly ; they 'd need to evacuate quickly ; they 'd have at most few!