Potential Energy Calculator

How it works

Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object holds by virtue of its height: Ep = m·g·h, with g ≈ 9.81 m/s² on Earth. Lift a 10 kg mass 2 metres and you have stored 10 × 9.81 × 2 ≈ 196 joules in it. The energy is stored, not spent — release the object and gravity converts that potential energy into kinetic energy as it falls. At the moment of impact, nearly all of it has become motion, which is why a falling object hits harder from higher up. Height is always measured from a reference level you choose, so potential energy is relative: the same book has different Ep measured from the desk or from the floor. That freedom is fine, because physics only ever uses the *difference* in potential energy between two positions.