What is Gravitational Potential Energy?

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  • Originally Written By: C. Martin
  • Revised By: Phil Riddel
  • Edited By: Andrew Jones
  • Last Modified Date: 24 August 2016
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Gravitational potential energy is acquired by an object when it has been moved against a gravitational field. For example, an object raised above the surface of the Earth will gain energy, which is released if the object is allowed to fall back to the ground. In order for an object to be lifted vertically upwards, work must be done against the downward pull of gravity. This work is then stored as gravitational potential energy. When the object is released and falls towards the Earth, the potential is converted into kinetic energy, or movement.

A pendulum is a good example of the relationship between gravitational potential and kinetic energy. At its highest point, the pendulum has only potential energy. As it descends, this is converted into kinetic energy, reaching a maximum at its lowest point, where it has no potential energy. As it swings up again, the kinetic is converted to potential energy.


The amount of potential energy that an object possesses depends on the object’s mass or weight, its height above the surface, and the strength of the gravitational field. If the other factors are the same, a heavy object will have more gravitational potential energy than a lighter object. An object 1 mile (1.6 km) up in the sky will have more energy than the same object 1 foot (30.48 cm) from the surface. On the Moon, which has a weaker field of gravity than the Earth, an object will have less potential energy than the same object at a similar height above the Earth.

Calculating Gravitational Potential Energy

The potential energy of an object can be calculated as the mass of the object, multiplied by the gravitational force, multiplied by the height of the object above a given point. That point could be the surface of the Earth or it could be the floor of a room. In fact, the potential can be calculated for any point below the object.

The gravitational force is usually expressed as the acceleration experienced by an object allowed to fall freely, disregarding the effects of air resistance or friction. Although the strength of the gravitational field at the Earth’s surface varies from place to place, the variations are so small as to be almost negligible. In physics, therefore, the acceleration due to gravity near the surface of the Earth in usually considered a constant, with a value of approximately 32 feet (9.8 meters) per second per second (feet/s2 or m/s2). A simple potential energy formula for an object lifted up from the surface of the earth could therefore be stated as follows:

This formula works well for objects close to the Earth’s surface. It can easily be adapted to cope with similar scenarios in other gravitational fields, for example on the Moon or on Mars, by changing the value of the gravitational force accordingly. Since the strength of any gravitational field diminishes with distance from its source, however, this formula will only work for objects relatively close to the surface of a source of gravity, where the reduction in the gravitational force is too slight to be important. For objects relatively distant from a surface, the mass of the source of gravity and the distance from its center to the object must be taken into account.


Probably the most important use for gravitational potential energy is in hydroelectric power. Here, the potential energy of water in a lake or reservoir located high above a power plant is exploited to generate electricity. Water is allowed to descend from the reservoir, converting potential into kinetic energy, and the movement of the water drives a turbine, which generates an electric current. During periods of low demand, the power plant may have an excess of electricity, which can be used to pump water back up to the reservoir, building up more potential energy.

Another application is in counterweights, which are used in a number of mechanical devices. For example, some types of elevator employ a counterweight in such a way that it is descending when the elevator car ascends, and vice-versa. When the car is going up, the potential energy of the counterweight is converted to kinetic energy as it goes down, so that it helps pull the car up, reducing the amount of work that has to be done by the motor that drives the device. As the elevator car descends — helped by gravity — the counterweight is pulled back up, gaining potential energy.


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Post 13

An abstract idea related to energy: work.

Post 12

Gravitational energy is just basically this: the higher an object goes, the more potential energy it has.

Post 10

So what is gravitational potential useful for?

Post 7

Wow, this is complicated!

So how can gravitational potential energy be applied to real life situations? For example, it is applied to hydroelectricity and such, but is there anything else?--horse4eva11

Post 4

@ GenevaMech- I would like to elaborate on comparables statement. The escape velocity for earth is between 10.7 to 11.7 kilometers per second depending on the orientation of the object. A key distinction is that this is the barycentric escape velocity, or the velocity needed to project something from the surface of the earth. Propulsion vehicles do not need to reach these speeds since they have continuous propulsion, and the escape velocity decreases the farther away from the object you get.

Post 3

@ GenevaMech- The question that you pose involves a few mildly complicated calculations, but the explanation is a little easier to understand. To exit the earth's atmosphere and escape from the pull of the earth's gravitational field, an object must reach an escape velocity.

The escape velocity is more accurately the speed required to move from a point in the gravitational field of an object to a point infinitely far away where the velocity of the object has reached nearly zero. Essentially this is the speed needed to reach a point where the object slows to a stop, but does not fall back to the object of origin because the gravitational force is almost zero. The calculations of escape velocity are based on the law of conservation of energy and the gravitational field associated with an abject.

Post 2

So if gravitational potential energy depends on an objects mass, distance from the surface and strength of the magnetic field, at what point can something escape the earth's gravitational force? How do you actually calculate the amount of energy needed to launch say a satellite into space?

The presence of gravity seems like it makes space travel more complicated than it seems. After thinking about gravitational potential energy for a while, I realize what type of feat it was to launch something into space.

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