Scientists and astronomers the world over ascribe to the idea that the formation of the solar system is best described by the solar Nebula model. They also concur that the best theory behind the formation of the solar system and the nebula model is the Nebula hypothesis.
The hypothesis builds on the idea that the planets and the sun came about as a result of the disintegration of gyratory cloud, this in -turn composed astrophysical cloud and dust. Following this explanation and the understanding gained from this concept, planet formation was the resultant natural result of star formation.
Renowned German philosopher, Immanuel Kant was the brain behind the theory in 1755, but its model was designed later by a French mathematician, Pierre-Simon Marquis de Laplace. Laplace presented the model to the world through his witting, “The system of the world”, this was made available as print in 1976 though improvements are still made on the model up to date. This implies that the resultant feature; the solar Nebula was hot at the center. The cloud of dust and gas in the centre was well mixed.
The theory pegs its support on the fact that when the rotating cloud of gas begins to collapse due to the influence of gravity, the angular thrust created will compel the cloud to form a region of maximum concentration at the centre. The degree of concentration reduces as one progress towards the periphery of the disc.
According to the Nebula hypothesis, the massive central condensation makes up the sun, and the planets were made up as a collection of the material from the disc. It is clear that the biggest object in the solar system, according to the explanation given, is the sun.
This also happens to explain the reason why the planets revolve around the planets in their own orbits the way they do; anticlockwise. It is because they are maintained in their orbits by the sun’s gravitational pull, and they only revolve around the sun in tandem to their initial motion during their formation. Kant alludes that gravitational force which originated from the centre of the disk produced a lot of heating the region, causing the astrophysical cloud to disintegrate.
The models that have been constructed follow the chronological pattern through the whole process. They demonstrate the cooling pattern of the whole Nebula. These models have helped scientists decode a chemical concentration chain that was at play during the cooling process.
Towards the center of the Nebula system, the temperature increases while closer to the sun the temperature gets so high to an extent that no solid matter can withstand it without changing form.
Matter existing within a close range to the sun exists in gaseous form, but the further one moves from the sun, the more the temperature drops. The further one moves from the sun, the more states of matter one gets, in that at regions beyond 0.2 AU temperature decreases to below 2000K. This temperature favors the formation of metals and their oxides.
Further away at around 0.5 AU from the centre of the solar system, the temperature decreases to become lower than 1000K. Silicate rocks are found here and beyond this distance the Nebula falls to a lower temperature of about 230K, this facilitates the condensation of ice. The ratio of the distance from the sun to the temperature difference yields the cycle of chemical condensation, and is used to accurately calculate the primary chemical composition of planets (Woronow, 101).
Works Cited
Woronow, R. and Gurnis, M. Interpreting the Cratering Record: Mercury to Ganymede
to Callisto, Satellites of Jupiter. Univ. of Arizona Press: (2001)