A star 2.5 times the mass of the sun and collapsed to a size of 12 km rotates with a speed of 1.2 rev. per second. (Extremely compact stars of this kind are known as neutron stars. Certain stellar objects called pulsars belong to this category). Will an object placed on its equator remain stuck to its surface due to gravity ? `("mass of the sun " = 2 xx 10^(30) kg).`

Explanation

GM/`R^(2) = 2.3 xx 10^(12) m s^(-2), omega^(2) R = 1.1 xx 10^(6) m s^(-2)`, here ω is the angular speed of rotation. Thus in the rotating frame of the star, the inward force is much greater than the outward centrifugal force at its equator. The object will remain stuck (and not fly off due to centrifugal force). Note, if angular speed of rotation increases say by a factor of 2000, the object will fly off.