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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we explore the most dangerous object in the universe. While there are many dangerous cosmic entities like black holes, neutron stars, and supernovas, the most powerful and destructive is a quasar. A quasar is a supermassive black hole at the center of a galaxy, surrounded by a disk of gas and matter. As the black hole consumes this matter, it emits immense amounts of energy, sometimes outshining entire galaxies.

We also touch on pulsars—rapidly spinning neutron stars that emit pulses of radiation—but they are not nearly as destructive as quasars. Fortunately, the nearest quasar is 800 million light-years away, and most likely no longer exists. However, a new quasar could form in the distant future when the Milky Way collides with the Andromeda galaxy. While these objects are far from us now, the unpredictability of the universe keeps us in awe of what could happen billions of years from now.

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The densest known matter in the universe is found in neutron stars, which are the remnants of massive stars that have undergone supernova explosions and collapsed under their own gravity. In these stars, the pressure is so extreme that electrons and protons combine to form neutrons, resulting in an incredibly compact core. Neutron star matter has a density of approximately 10^17 kilograms per cubic meter—a teaspoon of this material would weigh around 6 billion tons on Earth.

This extreme density is counterbalanced by neutron degeneracy pressure, a quantum force that prevents the neutrons from collapsing further. However, if the mass of a neutron star exceeds the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit (around 2-3 times the mass of the Sun), this pressure can no longer resist gravitational collapse, leading the neutron star to become a black hole.

Neutron stars are at the edge of the limit before collapsing into a black hole, representing the densest stable state of matter known. If more mass is added, the star will collapse into a singularity where the laws of physics break down. These stars typically have a radius of about 10-12 kilometers, with gravitational fields so strong that even light is significantly bent near them. As neutron stars rotate rapidly, they often emit beams of radiation, detectable as pulsars from Earth.

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The podcast explores the history of the solar system, from its origin in a nebula to the formation of planets and the current dynamics. It describes how the planets were formed, including the hypothesis of Theia's impact with early Earth, and how gravitational interaction continues to shape the system. Important events such as the Late Heavy Bombardment are mentioned, and the importance of space exploration is explored to understand our place in the cosmos. Finally, it highlights how studying the solar system helps us predict its future and understand the formation of other planetary systems.

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The podcast describes the formation of the Sun, from its origin as a cloud of dust and gas in the Milky Way to its evolution as a stable star. It explains how gravity caused the cloud to collapse, generating a rotating disk that became a protostar. Nuclear fusion, which began when the core temperature reached 15 million degrees Celsius, marked the birth of the Sun. The protoplanetary disk around the star gave rise to the planets of the solar system, while the solar wind cleared away the remaining gas and dust. The energy released by nuclear fusion is responsible for the light and heat that allow life on Earth.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.