Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
1–10 of 39 posts
Re: Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
#2OK, ELI5: Why should a neutron star have a strong magnetic field?
Re: Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
#3> ~1 billion Tesla
Magnetars supposedly have up to 10¹¹ tesla. But I guess the evidence for that is more indirect.
Re: Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
#4OK, ELI5: Why should a neutron star have a strong magnetic field?
The same reason earth or the sun have a magnetic field. But the collapse of the star's core compresses the dynamo into a much smaller volume and speeds up the rotation due to conservation of angular momentum, thus making it more powerful.
Re: Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
#5Magnetars are even more mindblowing than blackholes, in my opinion.
Here is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Magnetars, to blow your mind as well:
"X-ray photons readily split in two or merge. The vacuum itself is polarized, becoming strongly birefringent, like a calcite crystal. Atoms are deformed into long cylinders thinner than the quantum-relativistic de Broglie wavelength of an electron." In a field of about 10^5 Tesla atomic orbitals deform into rod shapes. At 10^10 Tesla, a hydrogen atom becomes a spindle 200 times narrower than its normal diameter., from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetar
Edit:
"Die Massendichte, die einem derartigen Magnetfeld über seine Energiedichte in Kombination mit der Äquivalenz von Masse und Energie gemäß E = m c^2 zugeordnet werden kann, liegt im Bereich einiger Dutzend Kilogramm pro Kubikmillimeter (kg/mm3)", from german Wikipedia, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetar#Entstehung
says that the mass density (via energy-mass equivalence) of such strong magnetic fields might be dozens of kilograms per cubic millimeter (kg/mm^3).
Mind. Blown.
Re: Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
#6OK, ELI5: Why should a neutron star have a strong magnetic field?
The same reason earth or the sun have a magnetic field. But the collapse of the star's core compresses the dynamo into a much smaller volume and speeds up the rotation due to conservation of angular momentum, thus making it more powerful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_dynamo
But that requires an electrically conducting fluid. Neutrons aren't electrically conducting, are they?
Re: Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
The same reason earth or the sun have a magnetic field. But the collapse of the star's core compresses the dynamo into a much smaller volume and speeds up the rotation due to conservation of angular momentum, thus making it more powerful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_dynamo
But that requires an electrically conducting fluid. Neutrons aren't electrically conducting, are they?
At pressures neutron stars deal with, the laws of know physics are more like vague suggestions.
Re: Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
The same reason earth or the sun have a magnetic field. But the collapse of the star's core compresses the dynamo into a much smaller volume and speeds up the rotation due to conservation of angular momentum, thus making it more powerful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_dynamo
But that requires an electrically conducting fluid. Neutrons aren't electrically conducting, are they?
Neutron stars don't entirely consist of neutron soup. It's more of a mix which gets gradually more neutron rich towards the core.
Re: Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
But that requires an electrically conducting fluid. Neutrons aren't electrically conducting, are they?
At pressures neutron stars deal with, the laws of know physics are more like vague suggestions.
Meaning that, for example, the neutrons could dissolve into just a sea of quarks, and then it's a charged fluid? OK, I could see that.
Re: Astrophysicists detect the strongest magnetic field in the universe
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
The same reason earth or the sun have a magnetic field. But the collapse of the star's core compresses the dynamo into a much smaller volume and speeds up the rotation due to conservation of angular momentum, thus making it more powerful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_dynamo
But that requires an electrically conducting fluid. Neutrons aren't electrically conducting, are they?
I think the theory is that there is enough proton degenerate matter to form a superfluid and hold a magnetic field, even if the majority of the star's matter is neutrons.