Equations
Gravitational potential energy (magnitude, any distance)
Gravitation · id gravitational_pe_universal
|U| = \frac{G M m}{r}
| Symbol | Quantity | Unit | Meaning | Usual range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
U | gravitational potential energy magnitude | J | Magnitude of the (negative) potential energy | 0 to 1e+40 |
G | gravitational constant | m^3/(kg*s^2) | Newton's constant of gravitation | |
M | central mass | kg | Mass of the central body | 1 to 1e+32 |
m | mass | kg | Mass of the second body | 0.001 to 1e+07 |
r | separation | m | Center-to-center distance | 1 to 1e+14 |
Assumptions
- Point masses or spherically symmetric bodies
- Zero of energy at infinite separation
Valid when
- No extra conditions.
Found by
Questions with these words retrieve this equation: gravitational potential energy, binding energy, orbit, planet, satellite.
Source
OpenStax University Physics Volume 1, Chapter 13 (reference; entry written by the project). License: MIT. Entry confidence: 0.98.