What is potential energy?

Potential energy is defined as the energy stored in an object. Potential energy can be divided into many types; Gravitational potential energy, Elastic Potential energy, Electric Potential Energy etc. Here the gravitational potential energy is defined as the energy possessed by an object by virtue of its position relative to others. Elastic potential energy is defined as the energy possessed by virtue of stresses within its body and an electric potential is defined as the energy possessed by an object by virtue of the total charge stored within.

Potential Energy Formula

The formula for gravitational potential energy is given below.

Where,

• PE is the potential energy of the object in Joules, J
• m is the mass of the object in kg
• g is the acceleration due to gravity in ms^-2
• h is the height of the object with respect to the reference point in m.