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The Lives of StarsModule 2When a Star Switches On
Module 2 / Lesson 5 of 2432 min
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Why Does Collapse Make the Core Hotter?

Where does the increasing internal energy come from before fusion begins?

Track gravitational potential energy as contraction raises pressure and temperature.

A scientific artistic cutaway of a contracting protostar with nested gas layers, inward motion, and a brightening hot centre.
Vastward scientific illustration. Contraction converts gravitational energy into internal particle motion and outgoing radiation before sustained hydrogen fusion begins.

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