This negative potential is indicative of a "bound state" once a mass is near a large body, it is trapped until something can provide enough energy to allow it to escape. The gravitational potential energy near a planet is then negative, since gravity does positive work as the mass approaches. Because of the inverse square nature of the gravity force, the force approaches zero for large distances, and it makes sense to choose the zero of gravitational potential energy at an infinite distance away. ![]() The general expression for gravitational potential energy arises from the law of gravity and is equal to the work done against gravity to bring a mass to a given point in space. Since the force required to lift it is equal to its weight, it follows that the gravitational potential energy is equal to its weight times the height to which it is lifted. Since the zero of gravitational potential energy can be chosen at any point (like the choice of the zero of a coordinate system), the potential energy at a height h above that point is equal to the work which would be required to lift the object to that height with no net change in kinetic energy. The most common use of gravitational potential energy is for an object near the surface of the Earth where the gravitational acceleration can be assumed to be constant at about 9.8 m/s 2. Gravitational potential energy is energy an object possesses because of its position in a gravitational field. Gravitational Potential Energy Gravitational Potential Energy
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