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Explorations: Stars, Galaxies, and Planets
Thomas Arny, University of Massachusetts
Stellar Remnants: White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, and Black Holes

Problem Solving



1

Calculate the density of a white dwarf star of 1 solar mass that has a radius of 104 kilometers.
2

Calculate the escape velocity from a white dwarf and a neutron star. Assume that each is 1 solar mass. Let the white dwarf's radius be 104 kilometers and the neutron star's radius be 10 kilometers.
3

Calculate the Schwarzschild radius of the Sun.
4

Calculate your Schwarzschild radius. How does that compare to the size of an atom? How does it compare to the size of a proton?
5

The mass of a neutron is about 1.7 x 10-27 kg. Suppose the mass of a neutron star is about 3.4 x 1030 kg. How many neutrons does such a star contain?
6

The volume of a neutron is about 10-45 cubic meters. Suppose you packed the number of neutrons you found for problem 5 (above) into a cube so that the neutrons touched edge to edge. How big would the volume of the cube be? How big across would the cube be? Hint: The volume of a cube of side L is L3. How does the cube's size compare to the size of a neutron star? What can you conclude about the spacing of neutrons in a neutron star?








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