“Splitting and jetting may be connected … At the moment Comet West split, the individual fragments brightened noticeably, and propelled large quantities of dust into space in the first of some dozen bursts”. The same could be said for the more recent Comet Linear breakup.
Why would intense, high-velocity jets and explosions of dust, traveling at supersonic speeds, precede the fragmentation of a comet nucleus? In the electrical model of comets, the answer is obvious. The behavior of comets will never be understood in simple mechanical terms because they are electrified bodies orbiting within the plasma environment of an electrified Sun. The solar plasma behaves like a very good conductor in the Sun's electrical connection with the galaxy. And just like any good conductor, the electric field within the plasma is very low. But unlike good metal conductors, the solar plasma is of extremely low density and therefore its current-carrying ability is limited.
Comets must adjust to the changing plasma potential as they move radially toward or away from the Sun. This adjustment is not so difficult on the long, slow journey through the outer reaches of the solar system. But it usually involves visible electric discharge effects as the comet dashes through the inner solar system.
The comet nucleus behaves like a capacitor. And as any electrical engineer knows, if a discharge occurs within a capacitor it will explode violently. That is what causes comet nuclei to fragment and it is why the event is commonly preceded by outbursts far more energetic than could be explained by sublimating ices. The energy is provided by the stored electrical energy within the nucleus.
All that is required to trigger the comet fragmentation is an electrical breakdown within the comet. In this sense, it may be analogous to the electrical breakdown evident in an earthquake. And that breakdown in the comet may happen with any sudden change in the solar plasma environment. The more sudden the change in the comet's electrical environment, the more likely that flaring and fragmentation will occur.