Re:Fast radio bursts from space have baffled scientists for ...
by perl4ever on Thursday September 12, 2019 @09:12PM
(#20958176)
"Because FRBs last only a thousandth of a second or so, any object producing them couldn’t be much bigger than 200 miles across"
I read this sort of thing now and then over the years, and I'm not sure I understand it, or if it is misleading.
What is an "object"? Could an "object" be part of a stellar object, or is it necessarily the whole thing? It seems like surely some event can happen on the Sun in less time than it takes for light to pass across it, just like radio waves on earth can be modulated in less time than it takes for them to pass across the planet.
Maybe it's obvious what an "object" is, but I feel like the statement that it has to be under 200 miles wide is promoting the assumption that it has to be a neutron star, or perhaps a black hole. But does it?
I read this sort of thing now and then over the years, and I'm not sure I understand it, or if it is misleading.
What is an "object"? Could an "object" be part of a stellar object, or is it necessarily the whole thing? It seems like surely some event can happen on the Sun in less time than it takes for light to pass across it, just like radio waves on earth can be modulated in less time than it takes for them to pass across the planet.
Maybe it's obvious what an "object" is, but I feel like the statement that it has to be under 200 miles wide is promoting the assumption that it has to be a neutron star, or perhaps a black hole. But does it?