Pointmassapotentiaali

Pointmassapotentiaali, also known as the gravitational potential of a point mass, describes the potential energy a unit mass would possess at a given point in space due to the presence of another point mass. It is a fundamental concept in classical mechanics and astrophysics, particularly in understanding gravitational fields and orbits.

Mathematically, the pointmassapotentiaali is given by the formula V = -G * M / r, where G is the universal gravitational constant, M is the mass of the source point mass, and r is the distance from the source point mass to the point in question. The negative sign indicates that the potential energy decreases as the distance decreases, signifying that work must be done to move a mass away from the source mass. This potential is a scalar quantity, meaning it only has magnitude and no direction. It is typically defined to be zero at an infinite distance from the mass. The gradient of the pointmassapotentiaali gives the gravitational field strength at that point. This concept is crucial for calculating gravitational forces and understanding the behavior of celestial bodies.