What process ignites at the core when sufficient temperature and pressure are reached, turning a protostar into a star?
Answer
Nuclear fusion
The process of star formation is centered on the accumulation of mass at the heart of the flattening disk. As more and more nebula material collapses inward under relentless gravitational pressure, this central mass experiences an extreme increase in both temperature and pressure due to the conversion of gravitational potential energy into thermal energy. When these conditions reach a critical threshold—a point of extreme density and heat—the core becomes hot and dense enough to ignite nuclear fusion. At this precise moment, the object ceases to be merely a heating protostar and officially becomes a self-sustaining star, like our Sun, powered by the energetic process of fusing lighter elements into heavier ones.
Related Questions
What is the initial vast, rotating cloud of gas and dust in the solar system formation model called?Which thinker formalized a description of a cooling, rotating nebula shedding rings to form planets in the late 18th century?What provided the heavier elements like silicon, iron, oxygen, and carbon found in the solar nebula?What modern interpretation often suggests the trigger for the gravitational collapse of the nebula is?What physical principle dictates that the nebula spins faster as its radius shrinks during contraction?What is the resulting thin, pancake-shaped structure rotating around the hot core called?What process ignites at the core when sufficient temperature and pressure are reached, turning a protostar into a star?In the inner, hotter region of the protoplanetary disk, which materials primarily condense into solid particles?What crucial boundary determines where ices can remain solid, dividing terrestrial and Jovian planet formation zones?What are the kilometer-sized bodies formed by colliding dust grains called before they become protoplanets?What complex mechanism is proposed to explain how the Sun retained only 1% of the system's total angular momentum?What process, observed in exoplanet systems, suggests large planets may not have formed in their current orbital positions?