How does the table’s surface handle exposure to neutron star material?

The question of how a common table's surface would handle exposure to neutron star material ventures from practical science into the realm of extreme theoretical physics. Neutron star material, the remnant core of a massive star after a supernova, is not a conventional substance. It is characterized by unimaginable density, where a single teaspoonful would weigh billions of tons on Earth, and is governed by the degenerate pressure of neutrons.

Direct physical contact between a terrestrial table surface—whether wood, metal, or composite—and this astrophysical material is a catastrophic mismatch. The primary interaction would not be one of chemical reaction or simple abrasion, but of overwhelming gravitational and nuclear force on a microscopic scale. The neutron star matter, bound by its own immense gravity, would not "spread" or "stain" the table. Instead, the table's atomic structure would offer negligible resistance.

Upon hypothetical contact, the intense gravitational field localized around the ultra-dense material would immediately tear apart the molecular bonds of the table's surface. The atoms of the table would be crushed and incorporated into the neutron star material's structure or violently displaced. The process would release an enormous amount of energy, likely as intense radiation and heat, vaporizing the surrounding area long before any macroscopic "handling" could be observed.

Therefore, the table's surface does not "handle" the exposure in any survivable sense. The scenario highlights the fundamental limits of everyday materials when confronted with the most extreme conditions in the universe. It serves as a thought experiment that underscores the extraordinary nature of neutron stars, where matter exists in a state so alien that our conventional understanding of material properties and surfaces becomes entirely inapplicable. The interaction is less about durability and more about instantaneous, total transformation of the ordinary by the extraordinary.