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Solar System

The Angular Momentum Problem



Perhaps the most important issue to be resolved in future versions of the solar nebula model is that of the distribution of angular momentum. The problem for the solar nebula theory is that it predicts that most of the mass and angular momentum should be in the Sun. In other words, the Sun should spin much more rapidly than it does. A mechanism is therefore required to transport angular momentum away from the central proto-sun and redistribute it in the outer planetary disk. One proposed transport mechanism invokes the presence of magnetic field in the nebula, while another mechanism proposed the existence of viscous stresses produced by turbulence in the nebular gas.




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Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Adam Smith Biography to Spectroscopic binarySolar System - What And Where Is The Solar System?, Solar System Inventory, The Solar Nebula Hypothesis, The Angular Momentum Problem