n (physics) The
wikipedia:gravitational potential |
gravitational potential is the
radial (irrotational, static) component of a gravitational field, also known as the
wikipedia:Newtonian potential|Newtonian potential or the gravitoelectric field.
[Novello, M. ♦ [http://books.google.com/books?id=AEmJ2BmKer0C&pg=PA257&dq=%22gravitation+can+be+approximately+described+in+terms+of+gravitoelectric+and+gravitomagnetic+fields+corresponding+to+translational+and+rotational+inertia,+respectively%22&hl=en&ei=-GbkTcaNCoaEOs_ZpcwG&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1 VII Brazilian School of Cosmology and Gravitation, Rio de Janeiro, August 1993] Atlantica Séguier Frontières, 1994, p. 257 ♦ "In general, a system can have both translational and rotational accelerations, however. It follows from Einstein's principle of equivalence that locally—i.e., to the extent that spacetime curvature can be neglected—gravitational effects are the same as inertial effects; therefore, gravitation can be approximately described in terms of gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic fields corresponding to translational and rotational inertia, respectively. This is the gravitational Larmor theorem [3], which is very useful in the post-Newtonian approximation to general relativity. The gravitomagnetic field of a massive rotating body is a measure of its absolute rotation."][Thorne, Kip S. ♦ [http://einstein.stanford.edu/content/sci_papers/papers/nz-Thorne_101.pdf#page=3&view=FitV Gravitomagnetism, Jets in Quasars, and the Stanford Gyroscope Experiment] From the book "Near Zero: New Frontiers of Physics" (eds. J.D. Fairbank, B.S. Deaver, Jr., C.W.F. Everitt, P.F. Michelson), W.H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1988, pp. 3, 4 (575, 576) ♦ "From our electrodynamical experience we can infer immediately that any rotating spherical body (e.g., the sun or the earth) will be surrounded by a radial gravitoelectric (Newtonian) field 'g' and a dipolar gravitomagnetic field 'H'. The gravitoelectric monopole moment is the body's mass M; the gravitomagnetic dipole moment is its spin angular momentum S."][Grøn, Øyvind; Hervik, Sigbjørn ♦ [http://books.google.com/books?id=IyJhCHAryuUC&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=%22The+gravitoelectric+field+is+the+Newtonian+part+of+the+gravitational+field,+while+the+gravitomagnetic+field+is+the+non-Newtonian+part.%22&source=bl&ots=vF8KM_toq1&sig=5rqHuClm2mU_RdeMVPP0xPth7bA&hl=en&ei=Pd8DTd-kLMLrOdKx0LsB&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1 Einstein's General Theory of Relativity with Modern Applications in Cosmology] Springer, 2007, p. 203 ♦ "In the Newtonian theory there will not be any gravitomagnetic effects; the Newtonian potential is the same irrespective of whether or not the body is rotating. Hence the gravitomagnetic field is a purely relativistic effect. The gravitoelectric field is the Newtonian part of the gravitational field, while the gravitomagnetic field is the non-Newtonian part."]