Question

In the classic 1960s science fiction comic book The Atom, a physicist discovers a basketball-sized meteorite (about 10 cm in radius) that is actually a fragment of a white dwarf star. With some difficulty, he manages to carry the meteorite back to his laboratory. Estimate the mass of such a fragment. Is the assumption that he could carry it back reasonable?

Answer 1

No, the assumption is not reasonable.

Step-by-step explanation:

The density
`\rho` of a white dwarf star is
`\rho = 1*10^9kg/m^3`; therefore, the mass
`M` of a basketball-sized fragment of white dwarf will be

`M =\rho V`

where
`V= (4)/(3) \pi r^3` is the volume of the fragment.

For radius
`r = 0.1 m`, the volume will be

`V= (4)/(3) \pi (0.1)^3\\\\V = 4.12*10^(-3)\:m^3`

Therefore, the mass
`M` of the fragment is

`M =\rho V= (1*10^9kg/m^3)* (4.12*10^(-3)\:m^3)`

`\boxed{M = 4.12*10^6kg}`

which greater than the weight of an average airplane. So could the physicist carry this weight back to his laboratory? Nope. This assumption that he could carry a weight larger than an airplane is unreasonable. No human or animal can lift this much.