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>And here's the best part: They have the strongest magnetic fields ever observed, so strong they can melt you—literally dissociate you down to the atomic level—

>And here's the best part: They have the strongest magnetic fields ever observed, so strong they can melt you—literally dissociate you down to the atomic level—from a thousand kilometers away. Why should they destroy a human or anything that does not have an magnetic field or it's made from iron?

colechristensen 4y ago
Your entire experience of reality is almost exclusively electromagnetic.
philipswood 4y ago
From the article: >The problem is that atoms are made of positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons. In weak magnetic fields, this doesn't make a bit of difference. But in strong fields, the electrons and protons respond differently. Atoms lose their traditional shape, and the electron orbitals become elongated along the direction of the magnetic field lines. > ... your individual atoms would only be 1 percent as wide as they are long. With atoms turning into needles, atomic physics as we know it breaks down. As does all the bonds that atoms use to glue themselves together into complex molecules. >In other words, the static magnetic field of a magnetar is strong enough to simply... dissociate you. All the molecules that you're made of simply come apart into oddly shaped atoms.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
pvg 4y ago
Subject was "[...] turned to steel in the great magnetic field" [1] [1] Iommi T., Osbourne O., Butler G., Ward B. (1970). A Ferrous Human Journal of Paranoia, t. 4.
- antod 4y ago
  OK, that was hilarious. Thanks for making my day better.
deleted 4y ago
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kadoban 4y ago
If nothing else, everything is diamagnetic if the field is strong enough. The effect is usually just too weak to worry about. Though I don't think this is exactly why, might be related.
perihelions 4y ago
Because magnetic fields interact with electrically charged, or electrically conductive things too. Strong enough magnetic fields will induce eddy currents in your brain and make you taste metal (don't have a reference handy; this is a known symptom of certain high-field MRI's and there's probably an HN thread about it). Turn up the field a few orders of magnitude, and the Ohmic heating from induced currents will vaporize you. Magnetars are so far beyond merely "vaporized", there's no adequate language for "deforms and tears apart the electron orbitals of your constituent atoms"; I guess "melt" is close enough for pop science! Basically, you're no longer "matter" in the conventional sense of the word -- you're no longer made of (recognizable) atoms.
- squidbeak 4y ago
  How far would vaporisation-by-magnetar differ from spaghettification-by-black-hole? They sound very similar.
  - dreamcompiler 4y ago
    Spaghettification is about gravitational tidal forces pulling all your molecules away from each other. Magnetar vaporization is about the electromagnetic force (which is much stronger than gravity) tearing your molecules themselves apart. (Although the gravitational tidal forces around a magnetar would also be unpleasant.) Magnetar vaporization would not be painful: Pain requires nerves, and your nerves would be gone. It also requires a brain to receive the nerve impulses and that would be gone too. Spaghettification could be painful especially around a medium-sized black hole because it would happen slowly enough that you could feel your body being torn apart. Around a small black hole it would happen so fast that it would be essentially painless. Around a super-large black hole like the one at the center of our galaxy the tidal forces might be so gentle you'd never be spaghettified at all.
hexo 4y ago
Because of electrons, they are moving charge wich does interact with magnetic field. At this strong levels, it's quickly detrimental for molecules.
thehappypm 4y ago
Atoms are made of charged particles, so a strong enough magnetic field will act on these. Most magnetic fields are a total joke and can only act on highly charged particles but strong enough? The electrons in your tissue can get pulled away from their nuclei.
jcims 4y ago
Here's a frog floating in a magnetic field https://youtu.be/KlJsVqc0ywM?t=31 https://youtu.be/KlJsVqc0ywM?t=31

colechristensen 4y ago

Your entire experience of reality is almost exclusively electromagnetic.

philipswood 4y ago

From the article: >The problem is that atoms are made of positively charged protons and negatively charged electrons. In weak magnetic fields, this doesn't make a bit of difference. But in strong fields, the electrons and protons respond differently. Atoms lose their traditional shape, and the electron orbitals become elongated along the direction of the magnetic field lines. > ... your individual atoms would only be 1 percent as wide as they are long. With atoms turning into needles, atomic physics as we know it breaks down. As does all the bonds that atoms use to glue themselves together into complex molecules. >In other words, the static magnetic field of a magnetar is strong enough to simply... dissociate you. All the molecules that you're made of simply come apart into oddly shaped atoms.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

pvg 4y ago

Subject was "[...] turned to steel in the great magnetic field" [1] [1] Iommi T., Osbourne O., Butler G., Ward B. (1970). A Ferrous Human Journal of Paranoia, t. 4.

antod 4y ago
OK, that was hilarious. Thanks for making my day better.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

kadoban 4y ago

If nothing else, everything is diamagnetic if the field is strong enough. The effect is usually just too weak to worry about. Though I don't think this is exactly why, might be related.

perihelions 4y ago

Because magnetic fields interact with electrically charged, or electrically conductive things too. Strong enough magnetic fields will induce eddy currents in your brain and make you taste metal (don't have a reference handy; this is a known symptom of certain high-field MRI's and there's probably an HN thread about it). Turn up the field a few orders of magnitude, and the Ohmic heating from induced currents will vaporize you. Magnetars are so far beyond merely "vaporized", there's no adequate language for "deforms and tears apart the electron orbitals of your constituent atoms"; I guess "melt" is close enough for pop science! Basically, you're no longer "matter" in the conventional sense of the word -- you're no longer made of (recognizable) atoms.

squidbeak 4y ago
How far would vaporisation-by-magnetar differ from spaghettification-by-black-hole? They sound very similar.
- dreamcompiler 4y ago
  Spaghettification is about gravitational tidal forces pulling all your molecules away from each other. Magnetar vaporization is about the electromagnetic force (which is much stronger than gravity) tearing your molecules themselves apart. (Although the gravitational tidal forces around a magnetar would also be unpleasant.) Magnetar vaporization would not be painful: Pain requires nerves, and your nerves would be gone. It also requires a brain to receive the nerve impulses and that would be gone too. Spaghettification could be painful especially around a medium-sized black hole because it would happen slowly enough that you could feel your body being torn apart. Around a small black hole it would happen so fast that it would be essentially painless. Around a super-large black hole like the one at the center of our galaxy the tidal forces might be so gentle you'd never be spaghettified at all.

hexo 4y ago

Because of electrons, they are moving charge wich does interact with magnetic field. At this strong levels, it's quickly detrimental for molecules.

thehappypm 4y ago

Atoms are made of charged particles, so a strong enough magnetic field will act on these. Most magnetic fields are a total joke and can only act on highly charged particles but strong enough? The electrons in your tissue can get pulled away from their nuclei.

jcims 4y ago

Here's a frog floating in a magnetic field https://youtu.be/KlJsVqc0ywM?t=31 https://youtu.be/KlJsVqc0ywM?t=31