Difference between revisions of "Accretion Disk"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
(rewriting, better grammar and info) |
DanielPulido (talk | contribs) |
||
| (One intermediate revision by one other user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | An '''accretion disk''' is the term for a rapidly rotating disk of material that forms around a high-mass compact object, | + | An '''accretion disk''' is the term for a rapidly rotating disk of material that forms around a high-mass compact object, such as a [[white dwarf]] star or [[neutron star]].<ref>[http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/dictionary/index.cfm?Display=Dictionary&Letter=A NASA Dictionary].</ref> In order to conserve angular momentum, as material in the disk moves towards the central mass, its rotational speed increases as does its temperature. As a result, accretion disks often emit radiation in the [[x-ray]] and [[gamma ray]] portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. |
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
[[Category:Astronomy]] | [[Category:Astronomy]] | ||
Latest revision as of 13:30, February 12, 2010
An accretion disk is the term for a rapidly rotating disk of material that forms around a high-mass compact object, such as a white dwarf star or neutron star.[1] In order to conserve angular momentum, as material in the disk moves towards the central mass, its rotational speed increases as does its temperature. As a result, accretion disks often emit radiation in the x-ray and gamma ray portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.