Conservation of angular momentum slows a cloud's collapse:
A) equally in all directions.
B) only when the cloud is not rotating initially.
C) mostly along directions perpendicular to the cloud's axis of rotation.
D) mostly at the poles that lie along the cloud's axis of rotation.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Conservation of angular momentum causes the cloud's rotation to increase as it collapses, which means that the cloud's equatorial regions are moving faster than the polar regions. This results in a centrifugal force that slows the collapse along directions perpendicular to the plane of rotation, which is mostly along the axis of rotation. Therefore, the collapse is slowed mostly along directions perpendicular to the cloud's axis of rotation.

Conservation of Angular Momentum Slows a Cloud's Collapse