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For constant mass density $\rho$ on the lower half of the spherical shell $a\le |{\mathbf{r}}^{\prime }|\le b$, with $0<a<b$, the displayed Newtonian gravitational potential applies at $(0,0,h)$ for every $h>0$, with zero at infinity. Use source spherical coordinates with polar angle $\alpha \in [\pi /2,\pi ]$. For a fixed source radius $s$,Multiplication by $-2\pi G\rho s^2$ and integration from $a$ to $b$ leaves the antiderivative $s^3/3+h{s}^2/2-(s^2+h^2{)}^{3/2}/3$, proving the formula. The entire positive axis is outside the matter, even for $a<h<b$, so there are no interior/exterior radial cases. The limit at the origin is $-\pi G\rho (b^2-a^2)$; far away the leading term is $-GM/h$, with total mass $M=2\pi \rho (b^3-a^3)/3$.

An axisymmetric logarithmic Newtonian gravitational potential has spheroidal equipotential surfaces and a flat galaxy rotation curve: $R{\Phi }_R(R,0)=V^2$. The singular model is defined away from the origin; a fixed reference length makes the logarithm dimensionless. Its central $r^{-2}$ mass density cusp is locally integrable, but its total mass diverges at large radius.

The Bernoulli principle relates pressure, kinetic energy per unit volume and Newtonian gravitational potential along a streamline of steady flow with inviscid flow. For constant mass density, the Bernoulli equation gives $p/\rho +u^2/2+\Phi$ constant along that streamline. Constancy across different streamlines requires further hypotheses, such as irrotational flow.

Precisely, suppose a fluid of constant positive mass density obeys the Euler equations for an inviscid fluid, its velocity field and pressure are steady, and the body force per unit mass is $-\nabla \Phi$. ThenEvery term has units of energy per unit mass. For a uniform gravitational field, Newtonian gravitational potential is $\Phi =gz$, up to an additive constant. The pressure term represents work by surrounding fluid, so acceleration can exchange pressure work with kinetic energy. Dotting the steady Euler equations with $\mathbf{u}$ gives the displayed directional derivative: this is why constancy follows a streamline. ^[ref]

Continue the horizontal water constriction example from incompressible flow. Assume negligible viscous losses, steady flow and approximately uniform flow at both measurement sections, so the streamline speeds there equal the mean speeds $0.20$ and $0.80\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. Equal height cancels the Newtonian gravitational potential terms. The ideal pressure drop isThis is the Venturi effect in its ideal limit: the gain in kinetic energy density is supplied by pressure work. Cambridge's treatment uses this relation to connect a measured pressure difference to volumetric flow rate. ^[ref]

The $300\mathrm{Pa}$ result is conditional, rather than a prediction of the actual viscous pipe. Mass conservation fixes $Q$ and the ratio of mean speeds even with viscosity, but nonuniform velocity profiles require an integrated energy balance, and wall friction dissipates mechanical energy. A pump would supply additional work. In particular, constant mean speed in a straight pipe does not imply constant pressure: Poiseuille flow needs a continuing pressure gradient to overcome viscosity. ^[ref]

The black-hole sphere of influence is a characteristic radius where the central black hole appreciably changes surrounding stellar dynamics. Equating its Newtonian gravitational potential scale $G{M}_{\bullet }/r$ to the ambient squared velocity dispersion gives $r_{\inf }\simeq G{M}_{\bullet }/{\sigma }^2$. Dynamical mass measurements depend on angular resolution $r_{\inf }/D$, tracer brightness, and degeneracies in the orbital distribution, not solely on black hole mass.

The midplane galaxy rotation curve fixes the radial derivative of the Newtonian gravitational potential, not every exterior boundary condition. Adding $a|z|$ leaves that radial derivative unchanged but adds a uniform sheet of surface density of a disk $a/(2\pi G)$. The pure scale-free Mestel disk excludes such extra sources.

In 2014, Gabriele Rosi and colleagues used atom interferometry: two rubidium-87 clouds prepared by laser cooling in vacuum, $328\mathrm{mm}$ apart, received shared three-pulse Raman transitions spaced by $160\mathrm{ms}$. Fluorescence readout and paired-fringe ellipse fitting yielded differential wave phase. Twenty-four tungsten alloy cylinders, about $516\mathrm{kg}$ total, moved between C and F. Cloud subtraction rejected shared vibration; configuration subtraction isolated the source change.^[ref]

Calibration used timed flight and light-sheet crossings; mirror tilt compensated Earth rotation. Wave vector reversal rejected unwanted shifts. Modeling included source Newtonian gravitational potential, atom trajectories, cloud distributions and moving supports. Source positioning, mass density variation and cloud geometry limited the reported combined relative standard uncertainty to $150$ parts per million.^[ref]

To understand the subtraction without reproducing that full analysis, consider an ideal atom interferometer in uniform vertical acceleration during each pulse sequence. Let $k_{\mathrm{eff}}$ be its signed effective vertical wave vector component and $T$ the pulse spacing. Its acceleration-dependent wave phase is $\varphi \simeq k_{\mathrm{eff}}g{T}^2$; labels U and L denote upper and lower clouds. The double difference is thenA background field identical in C and F cancels even if it differs between the two clouds. In a fixed-geometry, linear-response model, write $S=G\mathcal{K}$, where $\mathcal{K}$ is calculated from the source mass density, calibrated pulse sequence and atom trajectories. Thus $G_{\mathrm{inferred}}=S/\mathcal{K}$. Measuring wave phase accurately is one part of the task; calculating $\mathcal{K}$ accurately is another. The real nonuniform field and finite clouds require the trajectory-dependent analysis described above rather than this uniform-field approximation.

Integrating a circular ring's Newtonian gravitational potential over azimuth gives $d\Phi =-4Gs\Sigma (s)K(k)ds/(r+s)$, with modulus $k=2\sqrt{rs}/(r+s)$. Differentiating using the complete elliptic integral of the first kind derivative gives the displayed circular speed kernel, where $E$ is the complete elliptic integral of the second kind. For an interior point of a smooth disk use a Cauchy principal value; beyond the outer radius the integral is ordinary. A discontinuous nonzero surface-density edge in an exactly zero-thickness disk has a logarithmically singular in-plane force at that edge.

A flattened power-law Newtonian gravitational potential has equipotential spheroids $R^2+{\lambda }^2{z}^2=\text{constant}$. For ${\Phi }_0<0$ and $0<\beta <1$, its midplane circular orbit angular frequency satisfies ${\Omega }^2=-\beta {\Phi }_0{R}_0^{\beta }{R}^{-\beta -2}$.

For a pressure-supported scale-free tracer $\rho \propto (R^2+z^2/q^2{)}^{-\gamma /2}$ in a spherical Newtonian gravitational potential, the tensor virial theorem constrains integrated directional velocity dispersions. Modest oblate flattening and a decreasing radial mass density require greater in-plane random support per direction. The displayed expansion assumes finite global virial integrals; the corresponding ratio of force moments also has a cutoff-independent angular interpretation.

Consider a negligible-mass star moving in the stationary Newtonian gravitational potential of a point mass. Let its semi-major axis be $a$, orbital eccentricity $0\le e<1$, and orbital period $P$. Write $\mu =GM$ for the gravitational parameter. The eccentric anomaly $E$ is determined by Kepler's equation,where $\tau$ is the time of periapsis. Coordinates in the orbital plane, with the point mass at the origin, areThe focus is the central mass; the ellipse's geometric centre is displaced by $-ae$ along the first coordinate. The varying denominator makes the star move faster near periapsis, even though the mean anomaly increases uniformly.

In a spherical Newtonian gravitational potential, use binding energy $E=\psi -v^2/2$ and specific angular momentum $L$. The displayed stationary galactic distribution function has locally Gaussian radial and transverse velocities: ${\sigma }_r^2={\sigma }^2$, ${\sigma }_{\theta }^2={\sigma }_{\varphi }^2={\sigma }^2/(1+r^2/r_a^2)$. Its mass density is $\rho ={\rho }_c{e}^{[\psi (r)-\psi (0)]/{\sigma }^2}/(1+r^2/r_a^2)$. The velocity-anisotropy parameter is ${\beta }_{\mathrm{an}}=r^2/(r^2+r_a^2)$, so the core is nearly isotropic and the halo nearly radial. These exact Gaussian integrals use the untruncated distribution over all velocities; imposing an escape-energy cutoff changes them.

For a homogeneous collisionless stellar model with its mean field subtracted, the response to an imposed Newtonian gravitational potential is ${\tilde{\Phi }}_{\mathbf{k}}^{\mathrm{tot}}={\tilde{\Phi }}_{\mathbf{k}}^{\mathrm{ext}}/{ϵ}_{\mathbf{k}}$, whereThe phase-space distribution function $f_0$ is mass-normalized, and $\mathbf{k}\ne 0$. Causal analytic continuation uses the Landau contour wherever the equilibrium permits it. Zeros describe collective Landau modes. This response function is a gravitational analogue of the electrostatic dielectric function; its susceptibility sign reflects attraction.

Gravitational energy is the potential energy associated with gravity. In Newtonian gravity, separated point masses haveFor a continuous isolated distribution, the corresponding self-energy is $E_{\mathrm{grav}}=\frac{1}{2}\int \rho \Phi d^{3}x$, where $\Phi$ is its own Newtonian gravitational potential with zero at infinity. The half avoids counting every pair twice.

For a spherical body with a fixed dimensionless mass density profile, $E_{\mathrm{grav}}=-CG{M}^2/R$, with $C>0$ determined by that profile; a uniform sphere has $C=3/5$. The inverse-radius scaling follows by rescaling every separation at fixed total mass.

This competes with the internal energy of an ultrarelativistic degenerate electron gas, which scales as $\hslash c{N}_e^{4/3}/R$ at fixed electron number $N_e$. Its electron degeneracy pressure instead scales as $R^{-4}$; it is the internal energy, rather than the pressure itself, that shares the gravitational $R^{-1}$ scaling. With $N_e=M/({\mu }_e{m}_u)$, comparing the two energy coefficients gives the Chandrasekhar mass scalewhere $m_u$ is one unified atomic mass unit and ${\mu }_e$ the mean number of atomic mass units per electron. The numerical coefficient requires a stellar structure model.

The Gravitational Hartree equation couples a complex wave function to the attractive Newtonian gravitational potential generated by its own squared modulus. In dimension $N\ge 3$, a dimensionless convention iswhere $C_N=(N-2)|S^{N-1}|$ and $|S^{N-1}|$ is the area of the unit sphere. The minus sign in the fundamental solution makes $\varphi \le 0$ for nonnegative density, with the potential selected to decay at infinity when the convolution permits it.

The convolution makes the nonlinearity nonlocal: changing the density at one point changes the potential elsewhere. The Newtonian kernel and its dimension differ from a local cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation. In three dimensions, the Hardy–Littlewood–Sobolev inequality controls the interaction energy and leads to Global H1 solutions of the three-dimensional gravitational Hartree equation.

The usual Newtonian gravitational potential satisfies $\mathbf{g}=-\nabla \Phi$ and ${\nabla }^2\Phi =4\pi G\rho$. An equally consistent convention sets $\phi =-\Phi$, giving $\mathbf{g}=\nabla \phi$ and ${\nabla }^2\phi =-4\pi G\rho$. With zero potential at infinity, a point mass has $\Phi =-GM/r$ and $\phi =GM/r$. Both conventions describe the same inward gravitational field and the same Gauss's law for gravity. Only the signs of the potential and its differences change. The gravitational potential energy per unit test mass is $\Phi$, or $-\phi$ in the alternative convention. A formula for a potential difference must therefore be read together with its relation to the gravitational field.

For a binary star viewed far from its centre of mass, let $\mathbf{r}$ be the separation and $\mu$ the reduced mass, $M=M_1+M_2$ the total mass, $r=|\mathbf{r}|$ and $x=|\mathbf{x}|$. The Taylor expansion of the point-mass Newtonian gravitational potential has zero dipole because ${\sum }_A{M}_A{\mathbf{x}}_A=0$. Its second moment is ${\sum }_A{M}_A{x}_{Ai}{x}_{Aj}=\mu r_i{r}_j$, soThis holds for an instantaneous separation in any orbit, not only a circular orbit. The mass quadrupole moment convention $Q_{ij}=\mu (r_i{r}_j-r^2{\delta }_{ij}/3)$ gives ${\Phi }_2=-3G{Q}_{ij}{x}_i{x}_j/(2x^5)$.

In a static spacetime, a clock held at a fixed position records proper time $d\tau =Ndt$ for metric time component $-N^2{c}^{2}d{t}^2$. Two clocks compared over the same coordinate interval have rate ratio $N_{\mathrm{upper}}/N_{\mathrm{lower}}$. Each clock ticks normally in its own laboratory; the difference appears when their readings or transmitted frequencies are compared. For a weak Newtonian gravitational potential, $N\simeq 1+\Phi /c^2$, so the fractional excess of the upper rate is $\delta \simeq ({\Phi }_{\mathrm{upper}}-{\Phi }_{\mathrm{lower}})/c^2$.

Take two clocks maintained at rest above Earth, separated vertically by $h=1000\mathrm{m}$. Approximate the local gravitational acceleration as constant, $g=9.81\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$, neglect rotation, and use the exact speed of light $c=299792458\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ from NIST's constants database. Then $\Delta \Phi \simeq gh=9810{\mathrm{m}}^2{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$ andThe upper clock gains about $9.4$ nanoseconds during one $86400$-second interval on the lower clock. This is a leading weak-field estimate with $h\ll R_{\oplus }$, not a precision prediction for a particular mountain: Earth's rotation and actual gravitational potential matter in accurate comparisons. The effect is experimentally accessible. Chou, Hume, Rosenband and Wineland raised an optical clock by $0.33\mathrm{m}$ and measured a fractional rate change $(4.1\pm 1.6)\times 10^{-17}$; the same formula with $g=9.80\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$ predicts $3.60\times 10^{-17}$. See their ^[ref]. Such comparisons make clocks probes of gravitational potential as well as instruments for timekeeping.

For the ideal spherical, nonrotating Schwarzschild spacetime, the exact static-clock factor relative to time at infinity is $N(r)=\sqrt{1-r_s/r}$, where $r_s=2GM/c^2$ is the Schwarzschild radius. Its weak-field expansion is $1-r_s/(2r)$. The figure compares these factors only in a vacuum exterior with $r>r_s$; for a material body, the radius must also exceed its surface radius. It does not extend the exterior formula through the body's interior. See Tong's lecture notes, section 6.1 on Schwarzschild exterior geometry.

The stellar density and Newtonian gravitational potential perturbation induced around a moving massive object. The stellar response includes both a forced component that follows the object and switch-on collective transients. In a homogeneous stable damped model, each late-time spatial harmonic is modified by the gravitational dielectric function at the object's forcing frequency. The wake's force back on the object produces dynamical friction.

For a fixed Newtonian gravitational potential, total energy density is $\mathcal{E}=\rho (u^2/2+\Phi )+p/(\gamma -1)+B^2/(2{\mu }_0)$. Its flux combines advected kinetic/potential energy, specific enthalpy and the Poynting vector. Dotting the ideal magnetohydrodynamic momentum equation with velocity, adding the adiabatic internal energy equation and the magnetic energy equation cancels the magnetic work. The pressure terms combine into $-\nabla \cdot (p\mathbf{u})$, proving the conservation law. A time-dependent imposed potential instead contributes $\rho {\partial }_t\Phi$.

Here inverse-square potential means the potential energy associated with an attractive inverse-square law for a central force: the potential energy itself varies as inverse distance. For $k>0$ and position $\mathbf{r}$ with $r=|\mathbf{r}|>0$,The gradient makes the distinction explicit: doubling $r$ halves the magnitude of potential energy but quarters the magnitude of force. The neighboring repulsive inverse-square potential instead has potential energy proportional to $r^{-2}$ and an inverse-cube force; the two naming conventions must be distinguished.

For Newton's law of universal gravitation, $k=GMm$, where $G$ is the gravitational constant. Treat the attracting mass $M$ as an isolated fixed point mass, or as a body with spherical symmetry and exterior test particle of constant mass $m\ll M$. The spherical shell theorem gives the same exterior Newtonian gravitational potential energy $U=-GMm/r$ without requiring uniform mass density. Here $r$ is measured from the centre, and the formula applies outside the body; it does not describe its interior. The Newtonian gravitational potential per unit mass is $\Phi =U/m=-GM/r$.^[ref]

The negative sign records binding relative to infinite separation, rather than a negative kinetic energy. Moving from $r_1$ to $r_2>r_1$ increases potential energy byBecause the force is a conservative force, this work depends on the endpoints, including for a curved path. Integrating $dV/dr=k/r^2$ with zero at infinity gives $V=-k/r$; adding a constant leaves the force unchanged but shifts the numerical escape energy threshold by that same constant. This is why the reference at infinity must accompany an escape velocity calculation.

For an exact synthetic comparison, stipulate the standard gravitational parameter $\mu =GM=8{\mathrm{m}}^3/{\mathrm{s}}^2$ and a $1\mathrm{kg}$ test particle. At $r=2\mathrm{m}$, $U=-4\mathrm{J}$ and the inward force has magnitude $2\mathrm{N}$; at $r=4\mathrm{m}$, $U=-2\mathrm{J}$ and the inward force has magnitude $0.5\mathrm{N}$. The increase is $2\mathrm{J}$ of potential energy. These stipulated parameters are an arithmetic example, not observations of a particular body. The escape-energy balance diagram uses the same parameters.