Neutron stars, such as the one at the center of the Crab Nebula, have about the
ID: 1487222 • 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 685 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 = 1.99×10^30 kg , the gravitational constant to be G = 6.67×10^11 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
Your mass is m = 685N / 9.81m/s^2 = 69.83 kg
r = 25km / 2 = 12500 m
Your weight on the neutron star is
F = G * m_s * m / r^2
F = 5.93*10^13 N