Quote:
Originally posted by VanderL@Mar 20 2004, 02:26 PM
do we have any experimental evidence that matter can be compressed in this way?
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We have some indirect observational evidence. There are objects which spin around 250 times a second, and weigh about the same as the sun. If you assume that the equator on its surface is spinning at 20% the speed of light [a guess at the fastest possible spin rate], what is the space between atoms?
2e33 grams times [solar mass] 6e23 protons per gram [mole] is about 1e57 protons or neutrons.
0.2 [10 percent] * 3e10 cm/sec [speed of light] / (2pi * 250) = 4e6 cm radius.
volume = [1.33 * pi * r*r*r] is about 3e20 cubic centimeters.
This gives 3e36 nucleons per cubic centimeter.
This puts the average space between nucleons at about 6 femtometers, which is well within range of the nuclear forces. The space between normal atoms in a solid is about 20,000 times more sparse [0.1 nanometers].
More accurate, detailed, and less simplified analysis can be found on the web easily enough.