TO TRY to understand neutron stars, researchers have abandoned
telescopes for a new tool a billion billion times smallerthe
nucleus of a lead atom. Neutron stars, like the one at the heart
of the Crab Nebula, have a radius of only a dozen kilometres or
so but weigh more than the Sun. Despite often pumping out X-rays
or radio signals, it is hard to determine the structure of a
neutron star just from its radiation. Researchers think that a
neutron star is solid on the outside with a liquid centre. They
want to know how thick the solid neutron crust is, as this
affects many of the star's propertiesfrom how fast it cools to
how well it emits gravitational waves. Charles Horowitz of
Indiana University in Bloomington and Jorge Piekarewicz of
Florida State University in Tallahassee believe that they can
get an idea of the crust's thickness by measuring the ... To
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