Neutron stars are the remains of exploded stars, and they rotate at very high ra
ID: 1494794 • Letter: N
Question
Neutron stars are the remains of exploded stars, and they rotate at very high rates of speed. Suppose a certain neutron star has a radius of 15 km and rotates with a period of 1.8 ms .
(A) Calculate the surface rotational speed at the equator of the star as a fraction of c. (Answer is in terms of v/c) --> I got .1745 as my answer but Mastering Physics marks that as incorrect. Could you possibly explain why my answer is incorrect.
(B) Assuming the star’s surface is an inertial frame of reference (which it isn’t, because of its rotation), use the Lorentz velocity transformation to calculate the speed of a point on the equator with respect to a point directly opposite it on the star’s surface. (Answer is in terms of v'/c)
Explanation / Answer
a) 15km radius = 94.2km circumference
velocity v =94km per 0.0018s = 52333.3 km/s = 0.523 x 10^8
v/c = 0.1743