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| neutron star |
Neutron stars contains the densest matter in the universe. Neutron stars are the compressed remains of dead, massive stars, stars that were big enough to erupt in a supernova explosion, leaving behind an extremely dense core. This core can contain up to three times the mass of our Sun in the space of only a 12-30 km across.
The material that makes up a neutron star is called neutron-degenerate matter, a material that only contains neutrons. It is so densely packed that a matchbox full of it would weigh 3 billion tonnes on Earth.
The way we weigh something on Earth is by an object pressing down on the Earth because of the strength of Earth’s gravity. But the measurement we use to define something’s weight is by describing its mass.
For instance, if I say I weigh 100kg, that is actually my mass, not my weight, because weight is measured by the strength of gravity on mass.
On Mars, my mass of 70kg is the same, but my weight is lighter because gravity is weaker there.
On a neutron star, all this mass squeezed into the tightest of spaces means that gravity there is 2 x 10^11 times more than Earth, or 200 billion times stronger than on Earth.
This means that if I were to fall from a height of one meter from the surface of a neutron star, I would hit the ground at 1,500 kms per second.
If I were to stand on a neutron star, my weight would be 200 billion times greater than it is on Earth.