A pulsar is a rapidly rotating neutron star that continuously emits a beam of radio waves in a searchlight manner. Each time the pulsar makes one revolution, the rotating beam sweeps across the earth, and the earth receives a pulse of radio waves. For one particular pulsar, the time between two successive pulses is 0.024 s. Determine the average angular speed (in rad/s) of this pulsar.

Question

A pulsar is a rapidly rotating neutron star that continuously emits a beam of radio waves in a searchlight manner. Each time the pulsar makes one revolution, the rotating beam sweeps across the earth, and the earth receives a pulse of radio waves. For one particular pulsar, the time between two successive pulses is 0.024 s. Determine the average angular speed (in rad/s) of this pulsar.

(2 pi radians)/0.024 s = ?

Answer 1

To determine the average angular speed of the pulsar, we can use the formula:

Angular Speed = (2π radians) / Time

In this case, the time between two successive pulses of the pulsar is given as 0.024 s. Substituting this value into the formula, we get:

Angular Speed = (2π radians) / 0.024 s

Now, let's calculate the value:

Angular Speed = (2π) / 0.024

To simplify this, divide 2π by 0.024:

Angular Speed ≈ 261.799 radians/s

Therefore, the average angular speed of this pulsar is approximately 261.799 radians per second.