Geopotential function is a function that at each point is equal to a constant minus the energy that would be acquired by a unit mass in falling from rest at infinity to the point in question.
The gradient of the geopotential function, which can be obtained by vector calculus, yields the Earth's gravitational field.
Famous quotes containing the word function:
“As a medium of exchange,... worrying regulates intimacy, and it is often an appropriate response to ordinary demands that begin to feel excessive. But from a modernized Freudian view, worrying—as a reflex response to demand—never puts the self or the objects of its interest into question, and that is precisely its function in psychic life. It domesticates self-doubt.”
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