Quark matter — the fifth state of matter within neutron stars
Saturday, 13 June 2020 ()
Quark matter may join solid, liquids, gases, and plasmas as a newly-understood state of matter. Far from being exotic, a new study suggests that quark matter could make up a large percentage of the mass of some neutron stars. Normal matter, out of which most stars are made, consists of atoms made up of positively-charged protons and/or neutral neutrons in their nucleus, surrounded by clouds of negatively-charged electrons. Under enormous gravitational forces, these electron clouds shatter, forming a “soup” of subatomic particles called nuclear matter. Further compression merges electrons and protons, forming additional neutrons. This process creates neutron stars, like…
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