Gravitational Binding and Potential Energy

Gravitational potential energy describes how gravity stores energy between two masses. Because gravity is a conservative force, the work needed to move an object between two points depends on the starting and ending positions, not on the path taken. That is why a gravitational potential energy function can be written in term...

一个质量为 m 的物体，初始时距离地球中心为 r₁，被移动至 r₂。由于该物体在地球的引力场中运动，其势能从 U₁ 变化到 U₂。势能的变化量等于引力在移动物体过程中所做的功。

此处，所做的功等于引力大小与位移的负积分。将引力代入并以r₁和r₂为积分限进行积分后，U₂ 减 U₁等于 引力常数乘以两物体质量的乘积，再乘以...