Neutron stars, such as the one at the center of the Crab Nebula, have about the
ID: 1491849 • 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 660 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 15.0 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
wg = 660 N , g =9.81m/s^2, ms= 1.99*10^30 kg , G=6.67*10^-11 N.m^2/kg^2, d =15 km, R = 7.5 km
weight of person on earth wg = mg
m = 660/9.81 = 67.2783 kg
From universal gravitational law
weight of person Neutron star wstar = Gmsm/R^2
wstar = (6.67*10^-11*1.99*10^30*67.2783)/(7500*7500)
estar =1.5876*10^14 N