| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Uncle Buck" |
| Date: |
02 Mar 2006 09:36:50 PM |
| Object: |
OT: Another planet-building question... |
....only it's actually about stars. Some of the more dense stars eject material
from their poles.
1. If you had one of these spinning exactly on its axis and could move
planets/asteroids/"whatever" around in various orbital inclinations and
distances, would it be at all possible to turn such a star into a churning
"fountain" of sorts? I mean just like a water fountain, where at least the vast
bulk of ejected matter is directed back towards the star's equator, reabsorbed
and - eventually - re-emitted from the poles.
2. Could such an effect be achieved without any channelling mechanism, but just
by tweaking the spin.density/mass/composition of the star in question?
3. I suspect this would shorten the star's life considerably. Am I correct,
and if so, is there any way to determine by how much in any given scenario?
4. Could a black hole ever be turned into such a fountain?
Sorry for buggin' ya, but thanks just the same. :-)
--
L8r,
Uncle Buck
************************************************
The true mark of a civilized society is when its
citizens know how to hate each other peacefully.
************************************************
Put another way, a society can't claim the right
to label itself "civilized" until and unless its
citizens master "The Art of Peaceful Conflict".
************************************************
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| User: "Josef Balluch" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Another planet-building question... |
03 Mar 2006 12:11:40 AM |
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In a message sent 'round the world, Uncle Buck poured fuel on the fire
with the following:
...only it's actually about stars. Some of the more dense stars eject material
from their poles.
1. If you had one of these spinning exactly on its axis and could move
planets/asteroids/"whatever" around in various orbital inclinations and
distances, would it be at all possible to turn such a star into a churning
"fountain" of sorts? I mean just like a water fountain, where at least the vast
bulk of ejected matter is directed back towards the star's equator, reabsorbed
and - eventually - re-emitted from the poles.
2. Could such an effect be achieved without any channelling mechanism, but just
by tweaking the spin.density/mass/composition of the star in question?
Photographs of these stars shows an accretion disk of dust. The
mechanism that produces the jets is thought to be a magnetic field in
the accretion disk. Since the disk is spinning then the magnetic field
rotates with it, producing the basics of an electric motor. This moving
magnetic field accelerates electrically charged plasma along the axis of
the system, producing the visible jets. The rotation of the disk is
constrained by the physics of the system ( translation: you can't slow
it down ). Thus, you have no easy way to slow the outflow. The only way
to reduce the rotation rate of the disk is to have a very small star.
The problem there is that a minimum amount of mass is needed to maintain
fusion, and the star is presumably the source of the plasma in the jets.
IOW, no fusion, no jets.
Here is a nice animated GIF of a jet:
http://www.cosmos.swin.edu.au/entries/stellarjets/stellarjets6.gif
3. I suspect this would shorten the star's life considerably. Am I correct,
and if so, is there any way to determine by how much in any given scenario?
I don't see a reason to think the lifetime would be significantly
affected.
4. Could a black hole ever be turned into such a fountain?
The escape velocity of a black hole is the speed of light, so the
infalling material and the escaping material are moving extremely fast.
Once again, the problem is that you can't slow it down.
Regards,
Josef
Be humble, for the worst thing in the world is of the same stuff as you;
be confident, for the stars are of the same stuff as you.
-- Nicholai Velimirovic
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