12.3: Stellar Birth
There are relationships between pressure, temperature, and volume in a gas like interstellar medium:
Where:
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This relationship shows that as the pressure (P) increases, the temperature (T) increases and the volume decreases (V).
As the pressure, density, and temperature increases, no thermal (heat) energy can easily escape. The rising pressure and density leads to the formation of a Protostar, where the core is not yet undergoing fusion. The star ‘turns on’ – a star is born – when the protostar’s core temperature reaches 10,000,000 K; fusion begins as the proton-proton cycle.