Lesson Five : Properties of Neutron Stars
Neutron stars have four basic properties: a small diameter, high density, strong gravity, and strong magnetic field.Neutron stars are only several kilometers in diameter, often no more than the size of a city. They are at least forty percent more massive than our Sun, however! Consequently, neutron stars are extremely dense, about 1014 (one hundred trillion) times denser than water. A teaspoonful of neutron star could weigh up to one billion tons.
The gravitational force of a neutron star is proportional to its mass and inversely proportional to its radius squared. Thus, neutron stars have very strong gravitational fields. All of the particles in a neutron star are pulled together as tightly as possible, leaving a very smooth, spherical surface. If you tried to visit a neutron star, you would immediately be squished into elementary particles. On the surface of a neutron star, the escape speed (the speed at which you would have to travel in order to escape the gravitational field of a neutron star) is 160,000 km/s, over half the speed of light. Compare this to the escape speed on earth, which is only 11.2 km/s.
Neutron star compared to Manhattan
earthobservatory.nasa.gov
earthobservatory.nasa.gov