Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Weightlessness01:01

Weightlessness

5.0K
When an object is dropped, it accelerates toward the center of the Earth. If the net external force on the object is its weight, it is said to be in free fall; that is, the only force acting on the object is gravity. Galileo was instrumental in showing that, in the absence of air resistance, all objects fall with the same acceleration g. However, when objects on the Earth fall downward, they are never truly in free fall, because there is always some upward resistance force from the air acting...
5.0K
Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface01:20

Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface

2.4K
An object's apparent weight is its weight measured by a spring balance at its location. It is different from its true weight, the force with which the Earth pulls it, because of the Earth's rotation. Mathematically, an object's apparent weight equals its true weight minus the centripetal force that keeps it in a circular motion along with the Earth's surface every 24 hours.
The difference between the true and apparent weights is proportional to the square of the Earth's...
2.4K
Gravitational Potential Energy01:14

Gravitational Potential Energy

17.3K
Potential energy is not just a property of each object, but also a property of the interactions between objects in a chosen system. For each type of interaction present in a system, there is a corresponding type of potential energy. The total potential energy of the system is the sum of the potential energies of all the objects. Potential energy can be classified into two major categories: gravitational potential energy and elastic potential energy. The potential energy associated with a...
17.3K
Potential Energy due to Gravitation01:27

Potential Energy due to Gravitation

5.5K
Since gravitational force is a conservative force, the amount of work done to move an object between two points in the gravitational field in which it resides is independent of the path taken. Thus, similar to the gravitational field, a gravitational potential energy function can be defined, which depends only on spatial coordinates.
Consider a mass gravitationally bound to another object. For example, the Earth is gravitationally bound to the Sun’s gravitational field. The potential...
5.5K
Principle of Equivalence01:18

Principle of Equivalence

2.2K
According to Albert Einstein (1897-1955), free-falling and feeling weightless are intrinsically linked. If a person were in free-fall under gravity, for example, diving towards the Earth from an airplane, they would feel completely weightless. Similarly, a person descending in a lift may feel partially weightless. Broadly speaking, it is assumed that an object in a uniform gravitational field and an object undergoing constant acceleration in the absence of gravity are under the same...
2.2K
Geoid and Ellipsoid01:28

Geoid and Ellipsoid

28
The Earth's shape is best described as an ellipsoid, a slightly flattened sphere created by rotating an ellipse around its minor axis. This flattening results in the polar axis being about 21 kilometers shorter than the equatorial axis. In contrast, the geoid represents the Earth's gravitational shape and aligns with the mean sea level (MSL). The geoid is an irregular equipotential surface where gravity is perpendicular at every point. Variations in Earth's mass distribution cause geoid...
28

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

On the role of small estuaries in retaining buoyant particles.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2024
Same author

Optimal parameterizing manifolds for anticipating tipping points and higher-order critical transitions.

Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.)·2023
Same author

Climate-driven aerobic habitat loss in the California Current System.

Science advances·2020
Same author

Submesoscale currents in the ocean.

Proceedings. Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences·2016
Same journal

In This Issue.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Long-term cultural continuity across the Neanderthal-modern human sequence at Üçağızlı II Cave, northern Levant.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Dolphins use names to remember whom to avoid.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Retraction for Shaked and Frenkel, Curiouser and curiouser: Meningeal lymphoid structures in the aging brain.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Small but mighty: The outsized role of small water bodies in the global carbon cycle.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Functional traits produce conditional outcomes in different community contexts.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 7, 2025

Assessment of Static Graviceptive Perception in the Roll-Plane using the Subjective Visual Vertical Paradigm
06:30

Assessment of Static Graviceptive Perception in the Roll-Plane using the Subjective Visual Vertical Paradigm

Published on: April 28, 2020

5.7K

There is no horizontal gravity force in geopotential coordinates.

James C McWilliams1

  • 1Department of Atmopsheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|November 18, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study shows that using geopotential coordinates eliminates the horizontal component of Earth's gravity-rotation force in geophysical models. This provides a framework for refining atmospheric and oceanic circulation models.

Keywords:
Earth’s rotationgeopotential coordinatesgravity force

More Related Videos

Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings
06:21

Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings

Published on: July 26, 2022

2.5K
Reduced-gravity Environment Hardware Demonstrations of a Prototype Miniaturized Flow Cytometer and Companion Microfluidic Mixing Technology
13:59

Reduced-gravity Environment Hardware Demonstrations of a Prototype Miniaturized Flow Cytometer and Companion Microfluidic Mixing Technology

Published on: November 13, 2014

13.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 7, 2025

Assessment of Static Graviceptive Perception in the Roll-Plane using the Subjective Visual Vertical Paradigm
06:30

Assessment of Static Graviceptive Perception in the Roll-Plane using the Subjective Visual Vertical Paradigm

Published on: April 28, 2020

5.7K
Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings
06:21

Postural Organization of Gait Initiation for Biomechanical Analysis Using Force Platform Recordings

Published on: July 26, 2022

2.5K
Reduced-gravity Environment Hardware Demonstrations of a Prototype Miniaturized Flow Cytometer and Companion Microfluidic Mixing Technology
13:59

Reduced-gravity Environment Hardware Demonstrations of a Prototype Miniaturized Flow Cytometer and Companion Microfluidic Mixing Technology

Published on: November 13, 2014

13.7K

Area of Science:

  • Geophysics
  • Atmospheric Science
  • Oceanography

Background:

  • Traditional geophysical models for large-scale circulations often neglect the horizontal component of Earth's gravity-rotation force.
  • This practice has faced recent challenges, necessitating a re-evaluation of the underlying assumptions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the implications of neglecting the horizontal component of Earth's gravity-rotation force in geophysical models.
  • To demonstrate the effect of a coordinate transformation into geopotential coordinates on this force.

Main Methods:

  • A coordinate transformation into geopotential coordinates was applied to the geophysical modeling framework.
  • The analysis focused on the behavior of Earth's gravity-rotation force within this new coordinate system.

Main Results:

  • The coordinate transformation into geopotential coordinates effectively removes the horizontal component of Earth's gravity-rotation force.
  • This finding validates the use of models that have historically omitted this force component.

Conclusions:

  • The geopotential coordinate framework provides a theoretical justification for current modeling practices.
  • This framework can serve as a basis for future, more refined geophysical models of atmospheric and oceanic circulation.