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Chapter 16: Problem 31

Choose the best answer to each of the following. Explain your reasoning with one or more complete sentences. What happens within a contracting cloud in which gravity is stronger than pressure and temperature remains constant? (a) It breaks into smaller fragments. (b) Thermal pressure starts to push back more effectively against gravity. (c) It traps all the energy released by gravitational contraction.

Short Answer

Expert verified
(a) It breaks into smaller fragments.

Step by step solution

01

Analyze the Conditions

We are given a contracting cloud where gravity is stronger than the pressure, and the temperature remains constant. We need to focus on what happens under these conditions.
02

Evaluate Option (a)

Option (a) suggests the cloud breaks into smaller fragments. For a cloud under strong gravitational influence where pressure fails to counteract, fragmentation can occur. This is often seen in star formation regions.
03

Evaluate Option (b)

Option (b) suggests that thermal pressure pushes back more effectively. However, since temperature remains constant and does not increase, thermal pressure cannot strengthen against gravity.
04

Evaluate Option (c)

Option (c) implies the cloud retains all energy from gravitational contraction. Normally, energy from contraction requires heat transfer mechanisms; if temperature remains constant, some energy must be released rather than fully trapped.
05

Select the Best Answer

Based on the analysis, option (a) is the most plausible. When gravity overtakes pressure and temperature does not rise to counterbalance, the cloud can indeed fragment into smaller parts.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Gravitational Contraction
Gravitational contraction occurs when the force of gravity in a cloud causes it to collapse upon itself. This process is essential in star formation. A cloud of gas and dust in space becomes stale or inactive over time.
  • As gravity pulls the material inward, the cloud begins to shrink.
  • This contraction increases the cloud's density and, normally, its temperature.
The inward pull can cause the cloud to heat up as potential energy converts to thermal energy. However, if the temperature remains constant, the energy typically dissipates in other ways, such as radiation. This constant temperature complicates the balance between gravity and pressure, often leading the cloud to behave in unforeseen ways.
Cloud Fragmentation
Cloud fragmentation is a critical stage in the star formation process. When a cloud collapses under its own gravity and the pressure can't counteract this inward force, it tends to fragment. These smaller fragments can further collapse to eventually form stars or even binary systems.
  • Larger clouds usually contain varying densities throughout.
  • Regions with higher density collapse faster, leading to fragments.
  • These fragments are the sites where protostars, or early-stage stars, can form.
The importance of fragmentation in star formation cannot be overstated. It sets the stage for how the universe's stars are structured and determines how many stars a single cloud may form.
Thermal Pressure
Thermal pressure arises from the motion of particles in a gas or fluid. As particles move and collide with one another or the walls of a container, pressure manifests. In the context of star formation, thermal pressure tries to resist gravitational collapse.
  • Pressure is closely tied to temperature; higher temperatures typically lead to higher pressure.
  • In a contracting cloud, if thermal pressure doesn't grow in response to gravitational contraction, it cannot halt the collapse.
If the temperature remains constant, thermal pressure won't increase to combat the growing force of gravity. This allows gravity to dominate and can lead to both the breaking apart of the cloud and the formation of new stellar bodies. Understanding this delicate balance is crucial for comprehending how stars like our sun eventually come into being.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is clearly true) or does not make sense (or is clearly false). Explain clearly; not all these have definitive answers, so your explanation is more important than your chosen answer. Protostars are generally best observed in ultraviolet light because their surfaces have to get very hot before fusion can begin.

What happens to the thermal energy released into molecular clouds as gravity makes them contract? Why doesn't it build up and stop star formation?

Decide whether the statement makes sense (or is clearly true) or does not make sense (or is clearly false). Explain clearly; not all these have definitive answers, so your explanation is more important than your chosen answer. If Jupiter were 10 times more massive, we would consider it a brown dwarf, and if it were 100 times more massive, we would consider it a star.

Choose the best answer to each of the following. Explain your reasoning with one or more complete sentences. Why are the very first stars thought to have been much more massive than the Sun? (a) The clouds that made them were much more massive than today's star- forming clouds. (b) The temperatures of the clouds that made them were higher because they consisted entirely of hydrogen and helium. (c) Star-forming clouds were much denser early in time.

Be sure to show all calculations clearly and state your final answers in complete sentences. A Star Is "Born." Our discussion of star formation in this chapter talks about star "birth," even though stars are not really living things like humans, plants, or animals. In what sense is star birth like the birth of a living being? How is it different? Do you think it is appropriate to use the word birth in connection with star formation?
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