How does gravity work to make a star ?

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Chris Peterson
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Re: How does gravity work to make a star ?

Post by Chris Peterson » Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:00 pm

dougettinger wrote:I am more concerned with 2nd and 3rd generation stars where dust particles could provide a differential for the size of particle masses.
I don't think the presence of dust changes the gravitational dynamics in any significant way.
What would you use for a starting density for hydrogen molecules in a typical IMC ?
I'd use 1e9 molecules per cubic meter. That's still a hard vacuum, of course, but I think is pretty typical for the density of IMCs. The densest parts, where star formation is observed, are about a thousand times denser than the overall average (so, 1e12 molecules per cubic meter).
Chris

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dougettinger
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Re: How does gravity work to make a star ?

Post by dougettinger » Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:33 pm

Thanks for the information. I had a previous question not related to IMC's. Which came first - spiral or elliptical galaxies ? There seems to be different opinions in academia.

Doug Ettinger
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Chris Peterson
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Re: How does gravity work to make a star ?

Post by Chris Peterson » Tue Nov 23, 2010 10:13 pm

dougettinger wrote:I had a previous question not related to IMC's. Which came first - spiral or elliptical galaxies ? There seems to be different opinions in academia.
Yes there does.
Chris

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