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Pulsars and Magnetic Amplification

Abstract

THE identity of pulsars with supernova remnants was indicated by the Vela X source1 and confirmed by the location of pulsar NP 0532 within the Crab Nebula2 and by observations of optical pulses from a central star3. It is probable that the source is a rotating, magnetic neutron star4,5. In concentrating on the pulsar we should not, however, overlook a second, equally significant problem in the case of the Crab. My purposes here are, first, to show that such a star may generate magnetic flux and energy and account for the large flux which exists within the nebula; second, to show that we now have almost direct observational evidence of conversion of gravitational to magnetic energy as required in radio galaxies and quasars; third, to propose an explanation of pulsars as omnidirectional pulsed signals excited by a rotating star.

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PIDDINGTON, J. Pulsars and Magnetic Amplification. Nature 222, 965–966 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/222965a0

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