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

ID: 1417358 • 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 670 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 23.0 km? Take the mass of the sun to be m_1 = 1.99 times 10^30 kg, the gravitational constant to be G = 6.67 times 10^-11 N middot m^2/kg^2, and the acceleration due gravity at the earth's surface to be g = 9.810m/s^2. Express your weight w_star in newtons.

Explanation / Answer

Here, acceleration due to gravity on neutron star = (6.67 * 10-11 * 1.99 * 1030 )/(11500)2

                                                                              = 1.0036 * 1012 m/sec2

=> weight on surface of neutron star = (670/9.81) * 1.0036 * 1012

                                                                                        = 6.854 * 1013 N