Encyclopedia > Virial theorem

Article Content

Virial theorem

The virial theorem states that the total kinetic energy of the objects in a spherical, self-gravitating, stable assembly is equal to negative 1/2 times the total gravitational potential energy, if the objects can be assumed to have equal masses.

A mathematical analysis of the virial theorem can be found at http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/courses/astro201/vt.htm

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!

Featured Article

Islandia, New York

... made up of individuals and 2.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.04 and the average family size is 3.49. In ...