Gravity is an attraction force that attempts to bring two objects together. The Earth’s gravitational pull keeps you grounded and causes objects to fall. The Earth possesses gravitational pull. Everything is drawn to this planet by gravity. Everything is held in place by gravity: trees, water, animals, buildings, and the air we breathe. Gravity exists in the universe, and it affects planets, moons, and stars. Even our bodies are subjected to gravity. We don’t notice the gravity our bodies have because the Earth’s Surface tension’s gravity is significantly stronger than ours.
The moon’s gravitational pull on the oceans causes the Earth’s tides. The rise and fall of the ocean level as it relates to the shoreline is known as tides.
Based on its position, an object can store energy. When a demolition machine’s heavy ball is held at an elevated position, for example, it stores energy. Potential energy is the name given to this stored positional energy. A drawn bow, likewise, can store energy as a result of its position. When the bow is in its usual posture, there is no energy stored in it (i.e., when it is not drawn). The bow, on the other hand, can store energy when its position is changed from its normal equilibrium state. Potential energy is the name given to this stored positional energy. An object’s stored energy of position is potential energy.
Gravity is the most potent force in the universe when it comes to shaping the large-scale structure of galaxies, stars, and other objects, despite being the weakest of the four fundamental forces.
The potential energy that a huge object has in relation to another massive object due to gravity is known as gravitational potential energy. When the items fall towards one other, the potential energy associated with the gravitational field is released (turned into kinetic energy). When two objects are brought closer together, their gravitational potential energy increases.
Gravitational potential energy is the energy contained in an object as a result of its vertical position or height. The energy is stored as a result of the object’s gravitational pull to the Earth. The gravitational potential energy of a demolition machine’s heavy ball is determined by two factors: the ball’s mass and the height to which it is elevated. The mass of an object has a direct relationship with gravitational potential energy. The gravitational potential energy of more massive objects is larger. The height of an object has a direct link with gravitational potential energy. An object’s gravitational potential energy increases as it rises in altitude.
Gravitational potential energy formula:
Gravitational potential energy is known as the energy which an object has as a result of its position in a gravitational field. The most common application of gravitational potential energy is for an object at the Earth’s surface with a constant gravitational acceleration of 9.8 m/s2. Because gravitational potential energy zero can be chosen at any place (just like coordinate system zero), the potential energy at a height h above that point is equal to the work required to lift the item to that height with no net change in kinetic energy. The gravitational potential energy is equal to its weight times the height to which it is raised since the force necessary to lift it is equal to its weight.
PE gravitational = weight×height = mgh
Where,
m is mass
g is the gravitational field
h is height
Gravitational energy:
The energy stored in an object as a result of its height above the Earth (e.g., if it is farther away or closer to the ground) is known as gravitational energy. It’s a type of kinetic energy.
As the mass moves away from the Earth’s centre or other things large enough to produce substantial amounts of gravity, systems can increase gravitational energy (like our Sun, the planets and stars).
Some forms of energy are simple to comprehend. The movement, or kinetic energy, of a fast-moving object is more than that of a slow-moving object. A child with a lot of ‘energy’ is reported to be sprinting around a playground.
However, energy is neither created nor destroyed, according to physics.
Gravitational potential:
The work (energy transmitted) per unit mass required to move an object to that position from a fixed reference site is equal to the gravitational potential at that location. It’s similar to the electric potential, but instead of charge, mass is used. By convention, the reference position for the potential is infinitely far away from any mass, resulting in a negative potential at any finite distance.
The gravitational potential, commonly known as the Newtonian potential, is a crucial component of potential theory research. It can also be used to solve the electrostatic and magnetostatic fields created by ellipsoidal bodies that are uniformly charged or polarised.
The symbol V is frequently used to denote gravitational potential.
The gravitational potential energy per unit mass in relation to a predetermined point of zero potential energy is also known as gravitational potential. The two definitions are interchangeable.
Conclusion:
A zero height position must first be randomly assigned in order to determine an object’s gravitational potential energy. The ground is usually regarded as a point of zero height. However, this is merely an arbitrary position that the majority of people agree on. Because many of our laboratories are conducted on tabletops, it is common practice to set the tabletop to zero height. This is, once again, purely arbitrary. If the tabletop is at zero, an object’s potential energy is determined by its height relative to the tabletop. For example, a pendulum bob swinging above the tabletop has potential energy that can be calculated using its height above the tabletop. The potential energy of the bob can be calculated by measuring the mass of the bob and its height above the tabletop.
The gravitational potential has existed since the beginning of time.
The gravitational potential energy of anything in a high position is high. A book on the top shelf, for example, has more potential energy than a book on the bottom shelf because it has a longer distance to fall. Other things having gravitational potential energy include the following:
An increase in weight, water that has been held back by a dam, an automobile parked at the summit of a hill,, a yoyo before it’s launched, etc.