How does reaching the opacity threshold affect the heating rate in the core of a collapsing nebula?
Answer
The trapped energy dramatically accelerates the temperature and pressure rise in the very center.
Once the gas becomes opaque, the heat generated by the continuing inward fall of material cannot escape quickly, leading to the trapping of energy and a rapid acceleration of temperature and pressure increase.
Related Questions
What is the fundamental cause driving the concentration of mass in nebulae?What physical process generates heat during the initial phase of gravitational cloud collapse?What state of balance marks the transition from a collapsing protostar to a main-sequence star?What is the composition of nebulae, according to the text?What effect does the conservation of angular momentum have during the gravitational collapse of a nebula?What term describes the dense, hot core formed during the initial stages of gravitational contraction?What must gravity overcome for a sparse gas cloud to begin its contraction phase?What is the result if a collapsing core's mass is too low to achieve sustained core fusion temperatures?What characteristic of the early protostar dictates its subsequent lifespan and luminosity on the main sequence?How does reaching the opacity threshold affect the heating rate in the core of a collapsing nebula?