ScienceAugust 14, 2026

magnetar

MAG-nih-tar

Definition

A type of neutron star characterized by an extremely powerful magnetic field.

Etymology

The term is a portmanteau of 'magnetic' and 'star', coined by physicists Robert Duncan and Christopher Thompson in 1992 to describe these highly magnetized stellar remnants.

In the news

The article discusses observations of a specific magnetar, 1E 1547-5408, which provides evidence for vacuum birefringence because its magnetic field is strong enough to influence light.

Observations of a magnetar have strengthened the evidence for a quantum effect in a vacuum

Read the full article ↗

UA.NEWS

Related words

birefringence

The property of a material or vacuum to divide a ray of light into two separate rays with…

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ferromagnetic

Relating to materials that exhibit strong magnetism, where atoms act as tiny magnets that…

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ferromagnetism

A form of magnetism where certain materials, like iron, exhibit strong magnetic…

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momenta

The plural of momentum; the quantity of motion an object has, calculated as the product…

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neutron

A dense, neutral subatomic particle that, along with protons, composes the nucleus of an…

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photoemission

The process by which electrons are ejected from a material's surface when it is struck by…

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