What happens to the parts of a gas cloud as it orbits close to a black hole?

The correct answer is that the parts of a gas cloud orbiting close to a black hole experience varying orbital speeds due to the intense gravitational forces exerted by the black hole. This phenomenon occurs because the gravitational pull of the black hole affects different parts of the gas cloud differently based on their proximity to the black hole.

In a gravitational field, objects that are closer to the source of gravity experience a stronger force, causing them to move faster in their orbit compared to objects that are further away. As a result, parts of the gas cloud will orbit at different speeds relative to one another. This differential motion contributes to the complex dynamics observed in accretion disks around black holes, where temperature, density, and other physical properties can vary significantly.

The other options do not accurately represent the behavior of gas clouds near a black hole. For example, gas parts do not usually slow down significantly overall; rather, they adjust their speeds based on their distance from the black hole. Neutralizing each other is not a relevant interaction in this context, and expelling parts from the cloud generally does not occur as a primary behavior; instead, the gas typically continues to orbit, leading to distinctive patterns and structures influenced by gravitational interactions.