Gas diffusion in space.

Question

Hey all,

I was wondering about how stars are made from gas clouds. Shouldn’t gas always diffuse within the container it is in? In this case, diffuse into space?

So how do gas clouds accumulate enough mass to form a star, instead of all gas diffusing into empty space?

Thanks for any insights!

In: 2

Answer 1

Gravity.

Even in a closed container on earth the pressure is higher at the bottom than the top because of gravity.

Do that with a big ball of gas in space and it’s enough to pull the gas tight enough to start fusion. Just like on earth, the pressure is higher as you go to the center. The star is just FAR larger.