What non-thermal pressure mechanism acts like 'stiff supports' resisting the gravitational squeeze in molecular clouds?
Answer
Magnetic pressure.
When magnetic field lines thread tightly through a cloud core, the magnetic tension creates significant outward forces, acting as stiff supports that resist compression by the gravitational field.
#Videos
Week 10 / Lecture 2 : Stages of Star Birth - YouTube
Related Questions
What fundamentally determines the timescale of star formation?Why is thermal pressure often insufficient to halt gravitational collapse in dense star-forming cores?What non-thermal pressure mechanism acts like 'stiff supports' resisting the gravitational squeeze in molecular clouds?What process allows neutral matter to fall inward while charged particles and the magnetic field lag behind?What sources are cited as causes for the chaotic, supersonic motions (turbulence) in molecular clouds?Which slowing mechanisms are dominant resistance forces in the initial, less dense phases of cloud collapse?What organizational consequence results from conserving angular momentum during spherical contraction?What is the specific function of magnetic braking during contraction?What condition implied by a low Mass-to-Magnetic Flux Ratio ($ rac{M}{oldsymbol{oldsymbol{ ext{ extPhi}}}}$)?How is the resistance provided by turbulence ultimately overcome to allow final collapse?When does thermal pressure become the final hurdle a collapsing core must clear to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium?