Chapter 18: Problem 52
Be sure to show all calculations clearly and state your final answers in complete sentences. The Crab Nebula Pulsar Winds Down. Theoretical models of the slowing of pulsars predict that the age of a pulsar is approximately equal to \(p / 2 r,\) where \(p\) is the pulsar's current period and \(r\) is the rate at which the period is slowing with time. Observations of the pulsar in the Crab Nebula show that it pulses 30 times a second, so \(p=0.0333\) second, but the time interval between pulses is growing longer by \(4.2 \times 10^{-13}\) second with each passing second, so \(r=4.2 \times 10^{-13}\) second per second. Using that information, estimate the age of the Crab Nebula pulsar. How does your estimate compare with the true age of the pulsar, which was born in the supernova observed in A.D. \(1054 ?\)
Short Answer
Step by step solution
Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.