Radio-quiet neutron star Radio-quiet neutron star A radio-quiet neutron star is a neutron star that does not seem to emit radio emissions, but is still visible to Earth through electromagnetic radiation at other parts of the spectrum, particularly x-rays and gamma rays. Most detected neutron stars are pulsars, and emit radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation. About 700 radio pulsars are listed in the Princeton catalog, and all but one emit radio waves at the 400 MHz and 1400 MHz frequencies. That exception is Geminga, which is radio quiet at frequencies above 100 MHz, but is a strong emitter of X-rays and gamma rays. In all,
Electromagnetic radiation waves is sometimes called radiant energy. An anomaly arose in the late 19th century involving a contradiction between the wave theory of light and measurements of the electromagnetic spectra that were being emitted by thermal radiators known as black bodies. Physicists struggled with this problem, which later became known as the ultraviolet catastrophe, unsuccessfully for many years. In 1900, Max Planck developed a new theory of black-body radiation that explained the observed spectrum. Planck's theory was based on the idea that black bodies emit light (and other electromagnetic radiation) only as discrete bundles or packets of energy. These packets were