Neutron Stars: Crash Course Astronomy #32

In the aftermath of an 8-20 solar mass star’s demise, we find a weird little object known as a neutron star. Neutron stars are incredibly dense, spin rapidly, and have very strong magnetic fields. Some of them we see as pulsars, flashing in brightness as they spin. Neutron stars with the strongest magnetic fields are called magnetars and are capable of colossal bursts of energy that can be detected over vast distances.

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Chapters:
Introduction: Neutron Stars 00:00
Electron Degeneracy 0:51
Neutron Degeneracy 1:28
Neutron Star Characteristics 2:24
Pulsars 5:56
Magnetars 8:15
Review 11:48
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PHOTOS/VIDEOS

[xikes]

"As far as it's concerned, normal matter is slightly polluted vacuum.""

Best line ever.

[deawinter]

Saying a neutron star's magnetic field reacts "poorly" to starquakes might win for best understatement of the year

[ruzzyshuya]

Goals in life: to be as excited and enthusiastic about most things as Phil is about astronomy

[AbdullMohommedlol]

"that's halfway across the galaxy"

goddamn, magnetars are just overpowered

[AnkaaAvarshina]

Can we just discuss how effing cool the name "magnetar" is?

[garethdean]

I had trouble understanding this video, the material was a little dense.

[NikolajLepka]

Neutron stars have always been my favourite celestial objects. And for good reason, they're absolutely insane

[theultimatereductionist]

3:32 "Neutron starts are RIDICULOUSLY dense." Still not as dense as flat-earthers.

[ExpedienteGonk]

Phil is the teacher I would love to have had. I can't count how many times I have watched this video with his enthusiastic speech.

[Spaceman]

Phil,

Neutron stars are my #1 favorite objects in space and I've been fascinated by them for years. Kurzgesagt's video on Neutron Stars was one of the most important and informative I had seen in a long time, but I had been eagerly awaiting your CrashCourse video on them because I knew you would be capable of explaining their properties in such an excellent way.

Not only did you deliver on Neutron Stars, you also touched on Pulsars and Magnetars. I'm floored. I've watched this video something like four times already. I'm grinning like an idiot over it, because these objects are so unbelievably fascinating and you've done such a good job.

Thank you. Thank you!!

[yousof]

I can't wait for the black hole episode if it is coming!

[SerhiiMartyneko]

2:50 "You're mostly empty space"
This escalated quickly.

[MrMurgrona]

This is by far the best CC running right now, Phil is a wonderful teacher! :)

[MrDylan]

Magnetar. Sounds like the deadliest Pokemon ever. Also has some mind numbing numbers attached to it. Very awe inspiring.

[GammaCruxis]

Is it wrong to squeal a little bit when I see this in my sub list? XD

[elitearbor]

Magnetars are terrifying. Wow.

Also, thanks for clearing up some misconceptions I had held for ages. Neutron stars, depending on how they behave, are themselves pulsars and magnetars. I thought all three of these objects were different things!

[dIRECTOR]

I drive my car at "a fraction of the speed of light".

[breindigob]

I just love the little Phil cartoon character in the intro, the little smile is too cute. So happy. I EXTREMELY love these videos.

[EugeneKhutoryansky]

Excellent video. It is also worth mentioning that the magnetic field of a neutron is due to the magnetic fields of the quarks that comprise the neutron. If the neutron were an elementary particle, it would not be able to have a magnetic field due to the fact that it has a net electric charge of zero.

[gamer_kid_naz]

2:43 "small city" uses New York as an example