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Classical Physics
Mechanics
Sign of potential term in Lagrangian mechanics
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[QUOTE="PeroK, post: 6467372, member: 493650"] For GPE you have two conventions. If the object remains close to the surface, then you can write: $$V = mgh$$ where ##h## is the height above the surface. And, in the general case we write $$V = -\frac{GMm}{r}$$. The critical point, however, is that in both cases ##V## [U]increases[/U] as ##r## or ##h## increases. As a useful exercise, you could show that for ##r = R + h##, where ##h << R## we have: $$V = -\frac{GMm}{r} = -\frac{GMm}{R + h} \approx V_0 + mgh$$ where ##V_0## is constant. This shows that the two conventions are approximately equivalent up to a constant term (in the case where the object remains close to the surface). [/QUOTE]
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Physics
Classical Physics
Mechanics
Sign of potential term in Lagrangian mechanics
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