Neutron stars, such as the one at the center of the Crab Nebula, have about the
ID: 1335052 • Letter: N
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.
If you weigh 655 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 25.0 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
W = mg
m = 655 / 9.81 = 66.769 Kg
g = ?
W = ?
Radius of Neutron star = 25 / 2 km = 12500 meters
We need to find g on the Neutron star, so:
g = GM / r2
g = 6.67 x 10-11 x 1.99 x 1030 / 125002
g = 8.4949 x 1011
W = 66.769 x (8.4949 x 1011 )
W = 5.672 x 1013 N
Therefore, my weight on the surface of the neutron star = 5.672 x 1013 N