- #1
Silvius
- 13
- 0
Hey guys,
I'm currently trying to get my head around the concept of gravitational potential energy;
U[itex]_{r}[/itex] = -[itex]\frac{Gm_{1}m_{2}}{r}[/itex]
My question concerns whether this relates to both bodies in the system individually, or together.
That is, if I have two masses separated by a distance r, does the above formula describe the gravitational potential energy possessed by one of those bodies, or does it describe the total potential energy of the interaction between the two bodies? Or, another way of looking at it - is the total energy of the system U or 2U?
Thanks!
I'm currently trying to get my head around the concept of gravitational potential energy;
U[itex]_{r}[/itex] = -[itex]\frac{Gm_{1}m_{2}}{r}[/itex]
My question concerns whether this relates to both bodies in the system individually, or together.
That is, if I have two masses separated by a distance r, does the above formula describe the gravitational potential energy possessed by one of those bodies, or does it describe the total potential energy of the interaction between the two bodies? Or, another way of looking at it - is the total energy of the system U or 2U?
Thanks!