Gravitational Potential
 

Gravitational Potential problem 12


A rocket is launched from the surface of a planet and moves along a radial path, as shown in the figure below.




The planet may be considered to be an isolated sphere of radius with all of its mass concentrated at its centre. Point A is a distance from the surface of the planet. Point B is a distance from the surface. Show that the difference in gravitational potential between points A and B is given by the expression




where is the gravitational constant.


 

main author and content editor: Noble Menedi Firima