Geopotential meter: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
mNo edit summary |
Pat Palmer (talk | contribs) m (Text replacement - "gravitational acceleration" to "gravitational acceleration") |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{subpages}} | {{subpages}} | ||
A '''geopotential meter''' in the [[gravitation|gravitational field]] of the Earth is the vertical distance over which one must lift one kilogram of mass to increase its potential energy by 9.80665 [[joule]]. On those places on Earth where the [[gravitational acceleration]] ''g'' happens to be equal to 9.80665 m/s<sup>2</sup>, the geopotential meter is exactly equal to the [[SI]] meter (in this context referred to as geometric meter). | A '''geopotential meter''' in the [[gravitation|gravitational field]] of the Earth is the vertical distance over which one must lift one kilogram of mass to increase its potential energy by 9.80665 [[joule]]. On those places on Earth where the [[Acceleration due to gravity|gravitational acceleration]] ''g'' happens to be equal to 9.80665 m/s<sup>2</sup>, the geopotential meter is exactly equal to the [[SI]] meter (in this context referred to as geometric meter). | ||
Since ''g'' depends on altitude, the geopotential meter does too. For increasing altitudes the geopotential meter becomes increasingly larger than the geometric meter, because the gravitational force weakens with altitude, with the consequence that the same amount of energy can move a kilogram over larger distances.[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]] | Since ''g'' depends on altitude, the geopotential meter does too. For increasing altitudes the geopotential meter becomes increasingly larger than the geometric meter, because the gravitational force weakens with altitude, with the consequence that the same amount of energy can move a kilogram over larger distances.[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]] | ||
Latest revision as of 09:14, 14 September 2024
A geopotential meter in the gravitational field of the Earth is the vertical distance over which one must lift one kilogram of mass to increase its potential energy by 9.80665 joule. On those places on Earth where the gravitational acceleration g happens to be equal to 9.80665 m/s2, the geopotential meter is exactly equal to the SI meter (in this context referred to as geometric meter).
Since g depends on altitude, the geopotential meter does too. For increasing altitudes the geopotential meter becomes increasingly larger than the geometric meter, because the gravitational force weakens with altitude, with the consequence that the same amount of energy can move a kilogram over larger distances.