Question
A star 2.5 times the mass of the sun and collapsed to a size of 12 km rotates with a speed of 1.5 rps. (Extremely compact stars of this kind are known as neutron stars. Certain observed stellar objects called pulsars are believed to belong to this category.) Will an object placed on its equator remain stuck to its surface due to gravity? (Mass of the sun = 2 x 1030kg)
Solution
An object placed on the equator will remain stuck to its surface if the gravitational pull at the equator is greater than the outward centrifugal force at the equator.
Given,
Mass of the star is 2.5 times the mass of the sun.
That is,
The gravitational pull on an object is,
... (1)
The centrifugal force is,
... (2)
From (1) and (2), we can see that
Therefore, the object will remain stuck on its surface due to gravity.
Given,
Mass of the star is 2.5 times the mass of the sun.
That is,
The gravitational pull on an object is,
... (1)The centrifugal force is,
... (2)From (1) and (2), we can see that
Therefore, the object will remain stuck on its surface due to gravity.
