Gravitational binding energy

Gravitational binding energy is the energy required to separate a gravitationally bound system into parts so widely separated that their mutual gravitational interaction becomes negligible.

Virial theorem: A relation connecting time-averaged kinetic and potential energies in a stable bound system. It relates a system’s total energy to its gravitational potential energy in equilibrium.
Gravitational binding energy of Earth: The energy required to disperse Earth's mass against its self-gravity. Earth's value indicates the enormous energy needed to disperse the planet itself.
Newton's law of universal gravitation: The law stating that masses attract with a force proportional to their product and inversely proportional to distance squared. It supplies the force law used in the classical calculation of gravitational binding energy.
Total energy: The sum of a system's kinetic, potential, internal, and other energy contributions. A bound system's total energy is not identical to its positive binding-energy magnitude.
Escape velocity: The minimum speed an object needs to escape a body's gravitational field without further propulsion. It expresses the local energy threshold for escaping gravitational attraction.
Gravitational binding energy of the Sun: The energy required to disperse the Sun's matter against its self-gravity. It provides a scale for comparing gravitational energy with the Sun's radiative output.
Gravitational potential: Gravitational potential is potential energy per unit mass at a location in a gravitational field. Integrating potential over a system's mass gives its gravitational potential energy.
Rest energy: The energy associated with an object's rest mass, given by the mass-energy equivalence relation. Rest energy is intrinsic to mass, whereas gravitational binding energy depends on configuration.
Gravitational collapse: The contraction of matter under its own gravity, often leading to a compact astrophysical object. Collapse releases gravitational energy, reversing the work required to disperse matter.
Supernova: A stellar explosion that ejects material and can leave behind a neutron star or black hole. The energy budget must overcome the binding of the star's outer layers and remnant.

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