What is a Neutron Star?

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A neutron star is the smallest and densest kind of star. It is about 20 km in diameter and have more than 1.4 times the mass of our Sun. This means that a teaspoonful would weigh a billion tons! As long as a star shines, the power of its radiation holds all the parts of atoms apart. But when the star begins to die, the gravity in the star makes the outer layer collapse inwards with such force that the centre is crushed to solid neutrons because the electrons and protons are forced together to make neutrons. A neutron star is one of the strangest objects in the universe. It becomes a million times heavier than lead. A pinhead size piece of a neutron star would weigh as much as a huge multi-storeyed building.

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