Hertz saved the solar system

Professor of Geophysics, Physics & Applied Mathematics, Yale University

The formation of planets from a solar nebula faces a number of fundamental problems for theory and yet we have planets. I discuss the key problems, from the agglomeration of dust and gas to the fragility of the objects assumed to form, to their fate in the hydrodynamic environment of an accretion disk. Key assumptions regarding the sticking probability of the nebular material that have been required to overcome these problems are explained in terms of collisional dynamics and interfacial phenomena.