When Neutron Stars Were First Predicted Theoretically, No Scientist Expected

question 29

Multiple Choice

When neutron stars were first predicted theoretically, no scientist expected to be able to detect one of them across interstellar distances. What enabled astronomers to find neutron stars in the late 1960's?

• A) they give off a lot more light than expected, and can be seen glowing with a reddish light from far away
• B) they are so large, their dark outline block a significant amount of starlight from behind them
• C) we found strongly magnetic neutron stars whose whirling beams of energy were detected as pulsars
• D) some neutron stars soon collapse to be white dwarfs, whose light can be detected further away
• E) astronomers have actually only found one neutron star and that was discovered very close to us and by sheer luck

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Definitions:

Marginal Cost

The cost added by producing one extra item of a product. It's a critical concept in economics for determining the optimum production level.

Supply-Side Market Failures

Overallocations of resources that occur when private supply curves understate the full cost of producing a good or service.

Demand Curve

A graphical representation showing the relationship between the price of a good and the quantity of that good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices.

Supply Curve

A graphical representation showing the relationship between the price of a good or service and the quantity that suppliers are willing to offer for sale at that price.