Accretion disk

created by siren

(thing) by siren (3.4 mon) (print) ? I like it! Sun Jul 16 2000 at 21:08:31

An accretion disk is a disk of matter which forms around an object to which it is gravitationaly attracted. The reason the matter forms a disk is that it's angular momentum prevents it from falling directly onto the object. The disk experiences internal forces amongst its consituents which heat up the disk and aid in transferring the angular momentum out of the disk and the matter in onto the object. This action of the matter falling, or dripping, slowly in is the accretion. It is usually associated with binary stars (one star accreting onto the other), and black holes in the centre of galaxies.

printable version
chaos

bremsstrahlung	Accretion	light curve	Stages of a Star
trans-neptunian object	T Tauri star	Scorpius X-1	solar wind
Cygnus X-1	Event Horizon	Eddington luminosity	dwarf nova
stellar explosion	Type Ia Supernova	Jovian planets	hot Jupiter
AGN	black hole	floppy disk	How to destroy the Earth
it's vs. its	Nova	How to move something faster than the speed of light	cheese grater

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