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The basic requirement for a cloud to collapse to form a star is that __________.

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Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

The interstellar gas cloud will remain in hydrostatic equilibrium as long as the kinetic energy of the gas pressure is in equilibrium with the potential energy of the internal gravitational force.

To maintain equilibrium, the potential gravitational energy must be twice the internal thermal energy. If the cloud is so massive that the gas pressure is insufficient to maintain it, the cloud undergoes gravitational collapse.

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