This ‘Astounding’ Neutron Star Spins Faster Than a Blender

It’s not science fiction: Scientists have discovered a neutron star that spins faster than any blender humans have ever made. In a recently published study, scientists discovered that the 4U 1820-30 neutron star spins exceptionally quickly. For reference, the Earth spins once per day, which translates to about 0.00069 revolutions per minute. Meanwhile, 4U 1820-30 spins 716 times per second. 

That translates to about 42,960 revolutions per minute. That means this neutron star spins 61,902,017 times faster than Earth. It’s officially one of the fastest-spinning objects ever observed in the known universe.

The researchers came to this conclusion while studying 15 thermonuclear X-ray bursts using the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray telescope between 2017 and 2022. During their observations, the researchers noted that the neutron star was spinning, and it was spinning extraordinarily fast.

“We were studying thermonuclear explosions from this system and then found remarkable oscillations, suggesting a neutron star spinning around its center axis at an astounding 716 times per second,” said Gaurava Jaisawal, senior scientist at the University of Denmark and a member of the research group that published the study. “If future observations confirm this, the 4U 1820-30 neutron star would be one of the fastest-spinning objects ever observed in the universe, matched only by another neutron star called PSR J1748–2446.”

Neutron stars also happen to be some of the densest objects in the universe. If you were to take about a sugar cube-sized portion of a neutron star, it would weigh 1 billion tons, or roughly the weight of one Earth mountain. That means out there in space right now, there is a neutron star spinning nearly 61 million times faster than Earth while weighing several hundreds of thousands of times more. Fun fact: Researchers have also watched a neutron star glitch out before and still can’t explain why it happened. 

Just how fast is 716 revolutions per second?

It’s difficult to imagine something spinning 716 times in the span it takes a person to say the phrase “one Mississippi.” However, we can come close with some gadgets and tools that also spin pretty quickly. 716 revolutions per second translates to 42,960 rpm, and that’s a number we can work with. 

To put it into perspective, most blenders spin between 15,000 and 30,000 rpm. Centrifuges that scientists use to separate materials in a liquid often spin upwards of 20,000 rpm with some going higher. Gasoline-powered engines often redline at around 5,500 to 7,000 rpm, with only performance cars going higher. Thus, this neutron star spins faster than most centrifuges, blenders and gas-powered engines. 

There are still things that spin even faster. Researchers at Purdue University once created an object that spins at 300 million rpm. You don’t have to reach the limits of science to find faster objects. The drill they use at the dentist can spin at anywhere between 100,000 and 400,000 rpm.

Still, none of the above objects are the size or density of a star, which makes 4U 1820-30 that much more impressive.