Okay, so neutron stars produce very powerful magnetic fields. I understand how a charged system could do this, but neutron stars are…neutral.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that indeed, the answer is not yet known. If I am wrong please rid me of my ignorance.
Short answer:
The inner core is a superconductor swimming with electrons, and likely protons as well.
More details in this thread:
What generates the magnetic field of a neutron star ?
Somewhat of a hijack, I guess, but on a sort of related note… what generates the magnetic field of a black hole?
-Oli
To have a magnetic field, a black hole has to be both spinning and have a nonzero electric charge. Then again, any normal object satisfying these conditions will have one.