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2 votes
2 answers
62 views

What is known about the isotope distribution of neutronium decay?

Sometimes it is known to happen. For example, neutron star mergers might result in unstable neutronium droplets which lose the enormous pressure that makes them stable. A "nucleon" of $10^{...
peterh's user avatar
  • 8,247
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

How do neutron stars overcome neutron degeneracy?

In a white dwarf, the star is prevented from collapsing due to the Pauli exclusion principle. If the star is heavy enough, the protons in the star will capture electrons, forming neutrons and ...
Tau307's user avatar
  • 76
4 votes
1 answer
243 views

Why the Fermi's energies of the proton, neutron and electron are related in this way in a neutron star?

I'm referring to this answer made by ProfRob about why neutrons are stable against beta decay in neutron stars. I've partially understood the answer: when the Fermi's momentum of the electron $p_f = (...
nervousdog's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
162 views

Neutron star vs. Islands of stability

"Neutron stars" are said to be almost entirely composed of neutrons. The islands of stability principle recognizes an upper limit to the number of neutrons that can be introduced to an atom. ...
fertilizerspike's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
572 views

How can there be superconducting protons and neutrons inside an incredibly hot neutron star?

It is hard enough for me to try to wrap my head around the idea of superconducting particles other than electrons (especially neutrons!), .... Given the insanely hot temperatures inside a neutron star ...
Kurt Hikes's user avatar
  • 4,509
4 votes
1 answer
77 views

Do the free neutrons in a neutron star sometimes decay and immediately re-form?

Is there any way of confirming this, one way or the other? Would it affect any of the star's 'observeables', so to speak? I know that two similar questions are up on Stack Exchange-physics, and I ...
Kurt Hikes's user avatar
  • 4,509
1 vote
0 answers
38 views

What would happen if someone takes a sample away from a neutron star? [duplicate]

What would happen if someone takes a sample slowly away from a neutron star? Will it gradually change to some "normal" matter with regular atoms? If so, what atomic number will they have?
Martin Ždila's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
2k views

Does the collision of a neutron and anti-neutron produce energy?

Following up on this post: Anti-Particle of Neutron, one very important part of it is unanswered. If a neutron collides with an anti-neutron, will it violently explode in a flash of energy? The ...
Rohit Pandey's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is it possible that two neutrons can merge?

At the center of neutron stars are tightly packed neutrons with almost no space between them. Also, proton and electron have all merged (electron capture) forming as much neutrons as possible. When ...
goose's user avatar
  • 83
1 vote
1 answer
18 views

Pressure stabilisation of radionuclei

Looking at explanations of neutron stars, the neutrons towards the center of the star are stabilised by the enormous pressure, and so don't undergo nuclear decay. I am wondering if this is possible ...
Jacob Daniels's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why do neutron stars have such powerful magnetic fields?

The magnetic strength of these objects is too low based on flux conservation from the original star and yet too high for a composition of mainly neutrons. Is it actually due to some quantum effect?
Pagoda's user avatar
  • 166
3 votes
1 answer
354 views

What happens when a neutron star loses enough mass to go under Chandrasekhar limit?

Say if a blackhole passes very close by a neutron star at high speed fly-by and eats half of the neutron star. What happens to the other half? Does it blow up in size as the electroweak force pushes ...
Firstname Lastname's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
160 views

Can gravity give neutrons a longer lifespan? [duplicate]

Isolated neutrons have a lifespan of about one minute yet neutrons in a neutron star can have the lifespan of the neutron star itself and not decay into proton and electron. Is the intense gravity ...
Armondo Villaescuza's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
120 views

Why are neutron spectra continuous, with maxima? e.g 252Cf [closed]

I want to know why there is a maximum and then decrease.
ggs's user avatar
  • 103
10 votes
2 answers
818 views

Neutron stars - only neutrons?

I was at a museum recently, and there was a display on neutron stars. It said that neutron stars are made only of neutrons, which honestly didn't make much sense to me - neutrons decay very quickly on ...
auden's user avatar
  • 7,057

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