Introduction
Stars are magical objects that look distant, but studying their principles allows people to understand how they can stay stable for a long time. For this, a star needs to be balanced between two main forces: the gravity pull and the gas pressure. In this essay, we will discuss how these forces help the stars produce energy and continue being in a “steady state.”
The Two Primary Forces Behind Stellar Stability
The gravity pull comes from the star’s mass. This is Newton’s law that a mass will be pulled towards another mass, creating a pull that acts on all particles inside the star. The gravity pull opposes the star’s expansion, making it tauter (Diehl et al., 2021). However, the star cannot remain stable through gravitational force alone, so gas pressure is needed. This pressure comes from the heat emitted by the star. The heat raises the gas temperature inside the star, increasing pressure. The gas pressure opposes the gravity pull, sustaining the star against its own (Diehl et al., 2021). Thus, for a star to have a “steady-state” existence, the balancing of the gravity pull and the gas pressure is needed.
Achieving Balance: The Star’s Steady-State Existence
Both processes independently contribute to sustaining a stable state of the star. The gravity pull pulls all particles of the star towards the center while the gas pressure resists this pull, keeping the star within specific sizes. Stars generate energy for their balancing through nuclear fusion reactions (Diehl et al., 2021). This process starts in the star’s core, where combustible gases such as hydrogen and helium are joined into heavier elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, and uranium (Diehl et al., 2021). This process releases tremendous energy needed to sustain the equilibrium between the gravity pull and the gas pressure.
Conclusion
Lastly, maintaining the star’s stationary state depends on striking a balance between the gas pressure and gravity force. These forces counteract each other, preventing their expansion and contraction and allowing stars to produce energy nuclear fusion reactions and maintain a steady state. Without this balance, stars would not have existed long enough for us to see them in the sky.
Reference
Diehl, R., Krause, M., Kretschmer, K., Lang, M., Pleintinger, M. M. M., Siegert, T., Wang, W., Bouchet, L., & Martin, P. G. (2021). Steady-state nucleosynthesis throughout the Galaxy. New Astronomy Reviews, 92, 101608. Web.