Life on neutron stars
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Originating from a tongue-in-the-cheek suggestion by radio astronomer Frank Drake and developed upon by Robert Forward in two science fiction novels, it has been hypothesised that extraterrestrial life may exist in a neutron star. It would take the form of no known organic carbon-based life as the surface temperature on such a neutron star is 106K and has gravity 1012 times greater than the surface gravitation of Earth. Instead of the electromagnetic force dominating in the evolution of life in the neutron star, it would be the strong nuclear force, (the force that acts on the nuclei in an atom), that would determine the reactions that would take place, (this is due to the star's immense density) and therefore dictate how life could arise within the star. Life could arise from the basic interactions (underpinned by the strong force) between the various particles that exist in a neutron star, namely neutrons. It is thought that these interactions could yield a basic primary structure, or a nuclear molecule, from which life could arise. It would take approximately 10-21 seconds before any sort of structure was split up through the relentless collisions that go on within the star. Therefore, there is time to "evolve" into other forms. Any lifeform's existence would be extremely brief though, (an individual life form would last approximately 10-15 seconds). Finally, each individual member of the civilisation would be on the order of 10-13m in size and would probably use gamma ray photons with a frequency 1010 times greater than that of the frequency of a visible light photon to "communicate" between each other.
