I believe the density chances quickly to match Earth’s pressure.
But what else? Will it release energy enough to blow Earth up? Will its mass create some kind of an apocalyptical event?
You’re right on most accounts. Imagine Mt. Everest compressed into a teaspoon and then suddenly released to re-expand all at once. That’s a fair approximation of what would happen. It is going to expand as fast as the atmosphere will allow it, meaning it will superheat the atmosphere. It will likely result in all free water on the planet evaporating. The side of the Earth where it happens would likely be entirely molten. Given it will expand outward more or less equally, it would also likely eject some portion of the atmosphere into space. That also means there is likely a giant crater, but the molten surface will smooth that over in time - just like how when the Moon was formed from another large object smashing into young Earth we don’t have a moon sized crater on the surface. None of this even considers the damage the global shockwave from the sudden expansion would cause. Mostly because everything will likely be gone already.
Why? Because the only thing making a neutron star a neutron star is its gravity. Take a portion of it away from that star, it will explosively expand. Remember, this is so heavy that protons and electrons have been ripped away from their atoms and smashed together to form neutrons.
I’m not a physicist but I’ll give it a try…
Assuming you transported it into Earth’s atmosphere at a height of 20 kilometers, it would weigh 10 x 10^18 kilograms and accelerate towards the Earth at 9.8 m/s/s (the force of gravity on Earth) which would strike the Earth with 9.8 x 10^18 Newtons of force or about 1 trillion megatons. For reference, the largest thermo-nuclear man-made explosion was the Tsar-Bomba which was a 50-58 megaton explosion. It would result in a crater that’s about 120 kilometers in diameter. For reference, the crater that killed the dinosaurs is 150 kilometers in diameter.
The higher up in the atmosphere you dropped it, the more devastating it would be. I don’t think you can really consider it to be “atmosphere” much after about 80 kilometers. At 80 km the impact crater would be around 180 kilometers in diameter.
Basically, It would be extremely devastating to life on Earth and probably cause a mass extinction event similar to the dinosaurs.
I dunno if all my math was correct there, but it was fun to try to figure it out.
You’re forgetting a key thing here - a neutron star is held together by its gravity. Take a chunk of it away from that, and it will start to expand.
Yeah I hadn’t taken that into account at all. I’m just assuming that it stays roughly teaspoon sized the entire time.
it will not be an explosion per se but more of an intense neutron radiation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_radiation
It is a health hazard because when it hits atoms it could potentially make it radio active. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_radiation
Close. Everyone forgets that a neutron star is held together by gravity. Take a bit away and that bit will fall apart. Rapidly. Very, very, very rapidly. Like significant fraction of c rapidly. Imagine Mt. Everest suddenly flying apart at a significant fraction of c.
So this event would basically radiate life to death?
You mean like…ALL life on Earth? From a single teaspoon full? I doubt it. Would it kill the drunk camper who picks it up and decides to use it to keep his sleeping bag warm? Maybe.
That teaspoon of neutron star material weighs a few million tons and should instantly expand without the gravitational pressure of the star.
We aren’t talking about the outer parts we talk about a core piece, wich is almost as dense as a black hole because its only little away from becoming one.
“A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star, which had a total mass of between 10 and 25 solar masses…” as mentioned in Wikipedia
So the weight varies, and not every “specimen” would be that close to a black hole.
Kaboom.
Even a 1cm³ pice of the Suns core would be enough to eradicate most life on earth in a matter of minutes.
But the sun has fusion going on, while the neutron star doesn’t?
I bet my socks that every element found on a neutron star is heavier than iron.
Gimme yer socks. Neutrons stars are composed of … wait for it … neutrons! Hence the name. The gravity is so intense that pretty much all electrons and protons have been smashed together to form neutrons. Any molecule with a mass of hydrogen or greater has been ripped apart and turned into neutrons.
Oh okay so there are no elements at all. Fascinating!
There is a thin veneer of elemental matter – I think plasma iron (edit: close – it is degenerate iron plasma frozen into a crystal lattice) – on the crust of the star, it is theorized.
But once you’re in the creamy center, you’re dealing with shit that does not fit on a periodic table. The stuff that neutron stars are made of is not molecular in any sense that you know it.
I enjoy the theoretical nuclear pasta and nuclear lasagna of crystalized neutron matter.
And some of the biggest ones may not even be neutrons anymore. The math predicts stuff like strange stars – exotic quark plasma – as we approach the physical limits before collapse into a singularity.
Here’s the relevant PBS SpaceTime episode.
exotic quark plasma
Oh cool! What do we know about it?
Once again I recommend a PBS SpaceTime video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4RNGRyzt10
Short answer: we only know theoretical stuff and, frankly, probably won’t know anything non-theoretical for a VERY long time if ever because creating this kind of matter kind of requires a neutron star.
I remember that (if any other thing about the environment didn’t kill us) the electric field would squeeze our atoms and make us into dust if we landed on a neutron star!
