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For positive masses, let $r$ be the actual minimum pairwise separation and use positive binding energy $U={\sum }_{j<k}G{m}_j{m}_k/r_{jk}$. If $m_{(1)},m_{(2)}$ are the smallest masses, then $G{m}_{(1)}{m}_{(2)}\le rU\le G{\sum }_{j<k}{m}_j{m}_k$. Thus $U^{-1}$ is comparable to $r$ with constants depending only on the masses.

Natural units choose units so that selected fundamental constants have numerical value one. In relativistic quantum field theory the standard choice is $\hslash =c=1$: energy, mass and inverse length then have the same units. This is a convention, not a physical change of the constants; other natural-unit systems may also normalize other constants.

Two point masses released from rest at separation $a$ have negative mechanical energy $-G{m}_1{m}_2/a$ but collide in time $\pi \sqrt{a^3/[8G(m_1+m_2)]}$. Their separation approaches zero along a regular trajectory before collision. The energy sign alone therefore does not supply a positive lower separation bound.

With $E=T-U<0$ and $T\ge 0$, the positive binding energy satisfies $U\ge |E|$. The minimum-separation binding-energy bounds imply $r\le A_0/|E|$. At least one pair stays close; this does not bound every particle's distance or exclude a negative-energy gravitational collision.

The probability-density equation for the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process with drift $-v$ and diffusion coefficient $\sqrt{2}$. The unit-covariance Gaussian density is stationary because its Fokker-Planck probability current vanishes. This normalization makes mean velocity decay at rate one and energy excess decay at rate two.

For a smooth plane at inclination $\theta$ rotating about a vertical axis at constant angular velocity $\omega$, choose rotating coordinates $\xi$ horizontally and $\eta$ uphill, with their cross product the upward normal vector. A sliding particle under gravity satisfiesThe normal reaction is $N=m(g\cos \theta -2\omega \dot{\xi }\sin \theta +{\omega }^2\eta \sin \theta \cos \theta )$ while contact is maintained. The Coriolis force does no work in the rotating frame, giving the conserved specific energyThe last term is the centrifugal potential; this quantity need not equal the inertial mechanical energy.