Star crust is 10 billion times stronger than steel

The crust of neutron stars is 10 billion times stronger than steel, according to new simulations. That makes the surface of these ultra-dense stars tough enough to support long-lived bulges that could produce gravitational waves detectable by experiments on Earth. Neutron stars are the cores left behind when relatively massive stars explode in supernovae. They are incredibly dense, packing about as much mass as the sun into a sphere just 20 kilometres or so across, and some rotate hundreds of times per second. Because of their extreme gravity and rotational speed, neutron stars could potentially make large ripples in the fabric of space – but only if their surfaces contain bumps or other imperfections that would make them asymmetrical. A number of mechanisms have been proposed to create these bumps. The stars could, for example, gobble up material from a companion star. Bulges could also bubble up over hotter areas of the stars. In theory, these bulges could be stable on the outer surface of the star. Neutron stars are thought to be made up of a soup of neutrons covered with a solid crust. The crust is composed of crystals of neutron-rich atoms. "But one of the big unknowns for all that work is the strength of the crust. Can you really support a mountain, or will the crust just collapse under the weight?" says Charles Horowitz of Indiana University in Bloomington. Few defects Since laboratory experiments cannot replicate the extreme conditions on the surface of a neutron star, astronomers have largely assumed that the crust's strength would be similar to that of the strongest substances on Earth. But in new computer simulations, Horowitz and Kai Kadau of the Los Alamos National Laboratory show the crust of a neutron star is much stronger. Materials like rock and steel break because their crystals have gaps and other defects that link up to create cracks. But the enormous pressures in neutron stars squeeze out many of the imperfections. That produces extraordinarily clean crystals that are harder to break. A cube of neutron star crust can be deformed by 20 times more than a cube of stainless steel before breaking. Breaking point But the atoms in neutron star crusts are pulled together much more tightly than in steel, so it takes 10 billion times as much pressure to push it to the breaking point, Horowitz told New Scientist. Benjamin Owen of Pennsylvania State University in University Park says the simulations firm up previous suspicions that neutron star crusts might be stronger than astronomers had been estimating. "There was sort of some hand-wavy hints about that a few years ago, but this is really the first thorough calculation," he says. The stronger crust means a neutron star can support a larger bulge than thought – a "mountain" could rise some 10 centimetres above the surface, stretching over several kilometres. Stronger signal Now, "all else being equal, the maximum height of a 'mountain' on a neutron star is now 10 times what we thought," Owen told New Scientist. That would produce gravitational waves with 100 times the energy as those previously calculated, which could boost the likelihood that ground-based experiments like the US Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) could spot the signals, he added. The simulations could also shed light on starquakesMovie Camera, the reverberations triggered when intense magnetic fields tear open the crust of a neutron star. A stronger crust means these quakes can produce even more energetic gamma-ray flares and gravitational waves, Owen says.

SOURCE

Unbelieveable and amazing, if only humans could grab some of this material and utilise it as tools on earth. That will not happen though but still it is amazing to know that this material is real and makes our primitive strong materials look like rubber hahahaha.

Oneness

[edit on 14/4/09 by free_spirit_earth]

I personally would go out there and grab it, but not even the sham wow guy, could convince me to get whatever gloves are safe enough to grab it.

Basically, you would just collapse into the star, and itd be a quick death.

Stars have particularly great deaths. When I die I hope I do something like that, though doubtful.

I wonder now, what this material would feel, taste, smell, look, "sound'', like. If you hit it with something I guess.

I'd love to have a sword made out of starcrust. I'm looking to buy a
Japanese katana, but it's hard to find one of a decent price that doesn't
break, one made out of starcrust would be pretty unbreakable.

Originally posted by Republican08
I wonder now, what this material would feel, taste, smell, look, "sound'', like. If you hit it with something I guess.

I'd theorize it would taste like either nothing, or some severely poor tasting crap...

Smell....Let's see, that's like asking what a meteorite smells like....nothing?

Look....well, that's up to your imagination

Sound if you hit it, I'd expect nothing. The molecular structure's makeup would have to be so insanely dense, that if you hit it with a pick, it'd ruin the pick and the only sound you'd hear was the pick hitting a well.....invincible wall.

Wehali,

A sword made out of starcrust.

HAHA, that would put to shame any samurai, it would give the blacksmith a run for his money.

Arnold Swchennegar (I really dont know how to spell it) would have trouble holding it up, he can belly bench press californias economy!

would make a good hull for a space ship...............................................................................................

reply to post by free_spirit_earth


Sadly, a spoonful of the stuff has more mass, and therefore weight, as the Earth. Won't be using much of that for anything except speculation.

The idea of ultracompact matter is worth studying, though. Maybe the LHC will someday allow us a small-scale simulation.

jw

I am going to sound like a total nerd for saying this, but it is like Wolvie, as in Wolverine from the Marvel Comics, his bone-structure is laced with adamantium, as well as having claws made of the same.

Hugh Jackman is fancy-lad. The comic book was so much better as a kid.

www.uweb.ucsb.edu...

This new material can be the adamantium that we need, to create an army of Wolverines...or at least tanks.

Originally posted by pluckynoonezThis new material can be the adamantium that we need, to create an army of Wolverines...or at least tanks.

Why would we want tanks or an army of wolverines for that matter created from this material when tanks & army will only harm us humans and our environment, if we did manage to get some of this material it would be better utilised for more meaningful and non abusive purposes in helping us humans and our environment not killing humans or destroying the environment.

[edit on 15/4/09 by free_spirit_earth]

reply to post by pluckynoonez


My first thought too ADAMANTIUM.Man i am a geek.
So if its 10 billion times stronger does that mean its 10 billion times denser hence 10 bilion times heavier?Surely the crystals aren't formed 10 billion times more dense?Even if they were just packed a few times more densely wouldn't that make steel ex potentially more stronger?
Or am i way off track?

The neutronium of a neutron star cannot exist outside of the very intense gravitational field of a neutron star.


It is in fact the only true solid, as the neutrons are packed so densly together that they actually touch each other.

Everything you see around you is mostly empty space.

If you were to scale an atom of, even the densest, normal matter up to the size of our solar system, it would be far emptier than our solar system.


What you feel as solid matter is actually the repulsion of the strong nuclear force.

10 billion is too low , most russian mathematicans estimate strength between 100 billion+ to magnitude of tens of trillions

The crazy thing is a neutron star is at average only 10 miles in diameter. My 175 lb self standing on a neutron star would weigh approx. 24,500,000,000,000 lbs. That is a ton of gravity. A sugar cube of a neutron star here on earth would weight more than all of humanity.

Hope that puts it into perspective for ya.

Originally posted by Wehali
I'd love to have a sword made out of starcrust. I'm looking to buy a
Japanese katana, but it's hard to find one of a decent price that doesn't
break, one made out of starcrust would be pretty unbreakable.

Your sword, upon being handed to you by some mighty god, would immediately slip from you grasp and plunge into the Earth. I'm not entirely sure, but I suspect it would reach the Earth's core.

Originally posted by Wehali
I'd love to have a sword made out of starcrust. I'm looking to buy a
Japanese katana, but it's hard to find one of a decent price that doesn't
break, one made out of starcrust would be pretty unbreakable.

I wonder if it would be even possible to shape it as a sword? You know being so strong? hmmm

But it does sound amazing hehe.

edit:
by the way I can't understand how it can weigh so much, is this for real? It does not make sense to me that 1 sugar cube size can have that much mass?

[edit on 18-4-2009 by _Phoenix_]

Cool, it would have to have like some kind of magical gem that creates a gravity field around its user. And the user must be WORTHY! ONLY A PURE SOUL CAN LIFT MJOLLNIR, uh.. i mean neutronium sword thingie..

This is what im going to make my spaceship out of by the way...

i guess i should start digging...

[edit on 18-4-2009 by Vyrtigo]

[edit on 18-4-2009 by Vyrtigo]

reply to post by _Phoenix_


The desity of neutronium is so high because normal matter is mostly empty space.

what know of as solid matter is mostly empty space.
The atoms in normal matter are farther apart from each other scale speaking than the planets in our solar system.

The crushing gravity of a nuetron star has compacted matter so much that the electrons and protons have been driven out, and the neutrons are forced to touch each other.