What energy form is created when gravitational potential energy of infalling gas converts during collapse?
Answer
Thermal energy
The fundamental physics driving the heating of the collapsing nebula material is the conversion of potential energy into thermal energy. As matter falls deeper into the gravitational potential well toward the center of the forming star, the immense energy associated with that change in height (gravitational potential energy) is dissipated primarily as heat. This heating process causes the central region to become progressively hotter and denser, a necessary prerequisite for the later stage of nuclear fusion, though the initial heating mechanism is purely gravitational contraction.
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