ok... this is probably the most suitable section for your query.
Quote:
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Some pulsars oscillate with periods in the millisecond range. Their radio pulse characteristics are: the 'duty cycle' is typically 5% (i.e., the pulsar flashes like a strobe light - the duration of each output pulse is much shorter than the length of time between pulses); some individual pulses are quite variable in intensity; the polarization of the pulse implies the origin has a strong magnetic field; magnetic fields require electrical currents. These characteristics are consistent with an electrical arc (lightning) interaction between two closely spaced binary stars. Relaxation oscillators with characteristics like this have been known and used by electrical engineers for many years.
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To me, variations in rates will also be a point of falsification... youd know being an engineer, that varying the pulses on a relaxation oscillator is a simple thing to do... This becomes very important when we begin to analyse the frequency glitches detected in pulse rates...
A question from a layman might be "How does this pulsar, that is one of the heaviest things known, apparently spin up, then spin down"
relaxation oscillator = simple
spinning lighthouse = ?