geopotential
Sign in to saveAlso known as Earth's gravity potential
Geopotential (symbol W) is the potential of the Earth's gravity field. It has SI units of square metre per square seconds (m2/s2). For convenience it is often defined as the of the potential energy per unit mass, so that the gravity vector is obtained as the gradient of the geopotential, without the negation. In addition to the actual potential (the geopotential), a theoretical normal potential (symbol U) and their difference, the disturbing potential (), can also be defined.
~9 min read
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Concepts
- Background
- Formulation
- Centrifugal potential
- Normal potential
- Disturbing potential
- Geopotential number<span class="anchor" id="Number"></span>
- Simple case: nonrotating symmetric sphere
- See also
- References
Geopotential (symbol W) is the potential of the Earth's gravity field. It has SI units of square metre per square seconds (m2/s2). For convenience it is often defined as the of the potential energy per unit mass, so that the gravity vector is obtained as the gradient of the geopotential, without the negation. In addition to the actual potential (the geopotential), a theoretical normal potential (symbol U) and their difference, the disturbing potential (), can also be defined.
==Concepts==