Skip to main content

The most powerful magnets in the Universe — Magnetars


Magnetars are a type of neutron star that is formed during supernova core collapses.  During the collapse of a supernova, the core is crushed down to a fraction of its former size but maintains the same mass, making it extremely dense.  The rotation of this dense core is extremely high (due to the conservation of angular motion).  These newly formed magnetar stars rotate so fast that they are able to fully rotate around themselves in milliseconds - seconds.  Magnetar stars are made up of mostly neutrons.  The closest magnetar lives 50,000 light years away on the other side of the Milky Way galaxy, so there are no high-quality images of it yet.

Image result for magnetar
Artist Interpretation of a Magnetar

How magnetic are magnetars?

Magnetars have magnetic fields as strong as 10¹⁴-10¹⁵ Gauss, making it the most magnetic object (known) in the Universe.  To give an idea, 10¹⁴ is 100,000,000,000,000.  A magnetars magnetic field is 1 billion times stronger than what can be produced in a lab.
  • Earth’s magnetic field (which deflects compass needles) = 0.6 Gauss
  • A common commercial magnet = ~100 Gauss
  • Sunspots (the most magnetic parts of the Sun) = ~3,000 Gauss
  • MRI machines = Up to 70,000 Gauss
  • The strongest steady magnetic field produced in labs = 450,000 Gauss
  • Highly magnetized white dwarf stars = Up to 1 billion Gauss
  • Typical neutron stars = ~1 trillion Gauss
The strong magnetic field squeezes atoms in the direction of the field, distorting atoms into needle-like shapes:

Distortion of a Hydrogen Atom When In a Magnetar's Magnetic Field

Deadly magnetars

Magnetar blasts are caused by the disturbance of the magnetic field.  The magnetic fields are shaken and release large amounts of energy in the form of gamma rays.

December 27, 2004, was the last noted magnetar blast.  The energy blast was so intense that it flooded  NASA’s Swift telescope detectors, a spacecraft designed to observe gamma-ray bursts.  In a mere 1/5th of a second, the magnetar gave off as much energy as our Sun would in 250,000 years! If the magnetar had been within 1,000 light years, it could have easily triggered a mass-extinction event on Earth.

Depiction of a magnetar blast

Sources



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Physics of Sound Dampeners and Active Noise Cancellation

Physics of Sound Dampeners and Active Noise Cancellation Sound dampening foam panels in a recording studio. ANC headphones worn by pilots and/or passengers in consumer aviation aircraft.  Acoustic treatment of soundscapes has grown alongside the sound production industry. Whether through absorption panels, diffusors and cloud panels to treat a space or headphones placed directly over the ears of listeners, acoustic treatment comes in many forms. Environments are treated acoustically to absorb excess sound to prevent sound levels from crossing a threshold above which the desired goal cannot be had. Before getting into sound dampening, we must discuss sound. Sound is produced when an object vibrates (a form of oscillation) and temporarily displaces nearby air molecules causing a wave effect as the displaced molecules collide with their neighboring molecules. Sound waves are fluctuations in pressure as the initial displacement of molecules experiences collisions that in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. The LHC is the largest machine in the world. It took thousands of scientists, engineers and technicians decades to plan and build, and it continues to operate at the very boundaries of scientific knowledge. It first started up on 10 September 2008, and remains the latest addition to CERN’s accelerator complex. The LHC consists of a 27-kilometre ring of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way. Map of LHC (located in Geneva, Switzerland) Thousands of magnets of different varieties and sizes are used to direct the beams around the accelerator.  Just prior to collision, another type of magnet is used to "squeeze" the particles closer together to increase the chances of collisions. The particles are so tiny that the task of making them collide is akin to firing two needles 10 kilometres apart with suc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Aerodynamics of a Golf Ball

One may wonder how a small golf ball can travel at incredibly high speeds for such long distances.  While the swing of the club is a major component, the structure of the golf ball is quite important.  Unlike a baseball or tennis ball, a golf ball has dimples all over it (usually 336 dimples).  These dimples allow the golf ball to travel without facing much air resistance.  This diagram shows how air travels around the golf ball. The dimples on the golf ball also prevent drag that would occur in the wake region, resulting in further distance.  Also due to the contact with the club during the swing, the golf ball has backspin during its entire flight.  This diagram shows the motion of the golf ball mid flight with the lift force of F. There are hundreds of different types of golf balls that a player can choose.  Some show little affect to a player's game while others can alter their performance completely.  Personally, I prefer Callaway Supers...
Post a Comment
Read more