Method: Joules.gravitational_potential

Defined in:
lib/joules/gravitational_fields.rb

.gravitational_potential(mass, distance) ⇒ Float

Calculates the gravitational potential given mass and distance.

Examples:

Joules.gravitational_potential(6e24, 6.4e6) #=> -62531250.0

Parameters:

  • mass (Int, Float) —

    mass >= 0; mass is in kilograms

  • distance (Int, Float) —

    distance > 0; distance is in metres

Returns:

  • (Float) —

    return value <= 0; return value is in joules per kilogram

Raises:

  • (ZeroDivisionError) —

    if distance = 0



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# File 'lib/joules/gravitational_fields.rb', line 85

def gravitational_potential(mass, distance)
  if distance.zero?
    raise ZeroDivisionError.new('divided by 0')
  else
    return (-GRAVITATIONAL_CONSTANT * mass) / distance
  end
end