News Physics

Nuclear pasta in neutron stars may be the strongest material in the universe

Simulations suggest the theoretical substance is 10 billion times as strong as steel

neutron star

TOUGH STUFF  An exotic substance thought to exist within a type of collapsed star called a neutron star (illustrated) may be stronger than any other known material.

Casey Reed/Penn State University, Wikimedia Commons

By Emily Conover

- More than 2 years ago

A strand of spaghetti snaps easily, but an exotic substance known as nuclear pasta is an entirely different story.