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[[File:Irrotational vortex.gif|thumb|[[Potential energy]] is [[rest mass]].<ref name="RestMass"/> The self-gravitational involution of a rest mass can be visualized as a series of concentric shells. The higher a shell, the lower its rotational frequency. If we sufficiently extend the series of concentric shells, then the outermost shell's rotational frequency will be zero, so that the shell will have the lowest (''i.e.'', zero) actual energy (''E''(contracted; show full)27;h'', has precisely the dimensions of an angular momentum, and, moreover, the Bohr quantization hypothesis specified the unit of (orbital) angular momentum to be ''ħ&nbsp;=&nbsp;h/2π''. Angular momentum theory and quantum physics are thus clearly linked."</ref>) and the highest (''i.e.'', zero) potential energy (zero&#8209;frequency angular momentum).]]
The '''minimum total potential energy principle'''
, formulated in 1854 by [[w:William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin|William Thomson]], dictates that the continuum's potential (''i.e.'', zero&#8209;frequency) energy, also known as [[rest mass]],<ref name="RestMass"/> tends to become ever more negative (''i.e.'', ever more attractive) by condensing into positive actual (''i.e.'', nonzero&#8209;frequency) energy, a half of which becomes radiated into the ambient vacuum and deactualized ([[Red shift|redhshifted]] back to a zero frequency) by the relative expansion of the latter:
<blockquote>
Thomson had adopted in 1854 the view that "the potential energy of gravitation may be in reality the ultimate created antecedent of all the motion, heat, and light at present in the universe". In other words, it was "the original form of all the energy in the universe".<ref>MPP. 2, 40; William Thomson and P.G. Tate, 'Energy', ''Good Words'', 3 (1862), 601–7, on p. 606</ref> Such a speculation conformed to his theology of nature in which God had created energy ''ex nihilo'' in the beginning by His absolute power and had sustained its quantity by His ordained power.
:—Smith, Crosbie; [[w:M. Norton Wise|Wise, M. Norton]]. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2JYWeyAXpHUC&pg=PA533 Energy and Empire: A Biographical Study of Lord Kelvin] CUP, 1989, p.&nbsp;533
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Although mechanical energy is indestructible, there is a universal tendency to its dissipation, which produces throughout the system a gradual augmentation and diffusion of heat, cessation of motion and exhaustion of the potential energy of the material Universe.
:—Thomson, William. [http://zapatopi.net/kelvin/papers/on_the_age_of_the_suns_heat.html On the Age of the Sun’s Heat] ''Macmillan's Magazine'', 5&nbsp;March 1862, pp. 388–93
</blockquote>
The self-gravitation of a condensing particle of [[rest mass]] becomes more intense due to the [[inverse-square law]], so that the retained half of the actual energy must have a higher temperature in order to withstand it. At the same time, the relative expansion of the ambient vacuum makes the radiated actual energy colder, so that the hotter particle cannot reabsorb the colder radiated actual energy from the ambient vacuum (according to the [[second law of thermodynamics]], heat cannot of itself pass from a colder to a hotter body). This makes the radiational loss of energy irreversible. Morever, the higher temperature of the retained actual energy accelerates the radiational loss of the latter and thus accelerates the particle's further self&#8209;gravitational condensation.

So, the universe is a centripetal flux that is solving its '''angular momentum problem''' by condensing its zero&#8209;frequency angular momentum (potential energy) into nonzero&#8209;frequency angular momentum (actual energy), and radiating the latter away into the relatively expanding ambient vacuum:
<blockquote>
Since a circular orbit has the lowest energy for a given angular momentum, the gas can only sink further into the gravitational potential and accrete onto the primary, if it can lose some angular momentum. Finding the process by which this is done in real systems is called the '''angular momentum problem'''. We have illustrated it here with the example of mass transfer in a binary, but the same problem arises for the formation of stars from interstellar clouds or the accretion of gas onto the massive black holes in AGN. In these cases, the initial angular momentum due to random motion of the gas clouds is many orders of magnitude larger than can be accommodated by the accreting object. Rather than accreting directly, the gas forms a disk, acting like a temporary "parking orbit".
:—Murdin, P. (ed.) ♦ Encyclopaedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics ♦ Nature Publishing Group and Institute of Physics Publishing, 2001
</blockquote>

All potential energy ([[rest mass]]<ref name="RestMass"/>) is gravitational; other types of potential energy are temporary masks of gravity.<ref>[[w:Frank Shu|Shu, Frank H.]] [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=v_6PbAfapSAC&pg=PA157 The Physical Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy]. University Science Books, 1982, p. 157.<br> "'''Concluding Philosophical Comment.'''<br>Zeldovich and Novikov have made the following intriguing philosophical point about the picture of the formation of a neutron star sketched here. They note that stars begin their lives as a mixture mostly of hydrogen nuclei and their stripped electrons. During a massive star's luminous phase, the protons are combined by a variety of complicated reactions into heavier and heavier elements. The nuclear binding energy released this way ultimately provides entertainment and employment for astronomers. In the end, however, the supernova process serves to undo most of this nuclear evolution. In the end, the core forms a mass of neutrons. Now, the final state, neutrons, contains less nuclear binding energy than the initial state, protons, and electrons. So where did all the energy come from when the star was shining all those millions of years? Where did the energy come from to produce the sound and the fury which is a supernova explosion? Energy is conserved; who paid the debts at the end? Answer: gravity! The gravitational potential energy of the final neutron star is much greater (negatively; that's the '''debt''') than the gravitational potential energy of the corresponding main-sequence star (Problem 8.7). So, despite all the intervening interesting nuclear physics, ultimately Kelvin and Helmholtz were right after all! The ultimate energy source in the stars which produce the greatest amount of energy is gravity power. This is an important moral worth remembering and savoring. If we regard the neutron star as one gigantic atomic nucleus, we may also say that nuclear processes plus gravity have succeeded in converting many atomic nuclei into one nucleus. Problem 8.7 then shows that '''the ultimate energy source for the entire output of the star is the relativistic binding energy of the final end state'''."</ref> The potential energy is negative.<ref name = "PotEnIsNeg">[http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/phase.html#c4 Why is the Potential Energy Negative?] ''HyperPhysics'' dictates that the continuum's potential energy becomes ever more negative.<ref name = "PotEnIsNeg">[http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/phase.html#c4 Why is the Potential Energy Negative?] ''HyperPhysics''</ref>

The continuum's negative potential energy is a single irrotationally [[wiktionary:radial#Adjective|radial]] ("electric") flux of the vacuum.<ref name="Ziegler">Ziegler, Franz. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jREXB1HDDv0C&pg=PA167&dq=%22Force+in+such+a+potential+field+is+a+flux+in+the+sense+of+a+mechanical+driving+agent%22&hl=en&ei=8qbfTcaWDYWeOuuFgf8J&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1 Mechanics of Solids and Fluids]. Springer, 1995, p. 167. "Force in such a potential field is a ''flux'' in the sense of a mechanical driving agent."</ref><ref name="Volovik">Volovik, G. E. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cbngYQWAiDEC&pg=PA60&dq=%22The+non-viscous+flow+of+the+vacuum+should+be+potential+%28irrotational%29%22&hl=en&ei=hA6VTs-vH82XOuax5KoH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1 The Universe in a Helium Droplet]. OUP, 2003, p. 60. "The non-viscous flow of the vacuum should be potential (irrotational)."</ref>

All potential energy is gravitoelectric;<ref>Grøn, Øyvind; Hervik, Sigbjørn. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IyJhCHAryuUC&pg=PA201&dq=%22%CF%86+is+the+Newtonian+or+gravitoelectric+potential%22&hl=en&ei=jzzmTaS-HYPTsgaZ4rmfCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1 Einstein's General Theory of Relativity with Modern Applications in Cosmology]. Springer, 2007, pp. 201, 203. "''φ'' is the Newtonian or 'gravitoelectric' potential: ''φ'' = −''Gm''/''r''. ... 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."</ref> other types of potential energy are temporary masks of the gravitoelectric potential energy.<ref>[[w:Frank Shu|Shu, Frank H.]] [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=v_6PbAfapSAC&pg=PA157 The Physical Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy]. University Science Books, 1982, p. 157.<br> "'''Concluding Philosophical Comment.'''<br>Zeldovich and Novikov have made the following intriguing philosophical point about the picture of the formation of a neutron star sketched here. They note that stars begin their lives as a mixture mostly of hydrogen nuclei and their stripped electrons. During a massive star's luminous phase, the protons are combined by a variety of complicated reactions into heavier and heavier elements. The nuclear binding energy released this way ultimately provides entertainment and employment for astronomers. In the end, however, the supernova process serves to undo most of this nuclear evolution. In the end, the core forms a mass of neutrons. Now, the final state, neutrons, contains less nuclear binding energy than the initial state, protons, and electrons. So where did all the energy come from when the star was shining all those millions of years? Where did the energy come from to produce the sound and the fury which is a supernova explosion? Energy is conserved; who paid the debts at the end? Answer: gravity! The gravitational potential energy of the final neutron star is much greater (negatively; that's the '''debt''') than the gravitational potential energy of the corresponding main-sequence star (Problem 8.7). So, despite all the intervening interesting nuclear physics, ultimately Kelvin and Helmholtz were right after all! The ultimate energy source in the stars which produce the greatest amount of energy is gravity power. This is an important moral worth remembering and savoring. If we regard the neutron star as one gigantic atomic nucleus, we may also say that nuclear processes plus gravity have succeeded in converting many atomic nuclei into one nucleus. Problem 8.7 then shows that '''the ultimate energy source for the entire output of the star is the relativistic binding energy of the final end state'''."</ref> Because of the [[mass-energy equivalence]], the negative potential energy has a negative [[Mass#Inertial mass|inertial mass]] (''i.e.'', a negative resistance to acceleration), so that it self-accelerates to an infinite speed,<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3fAWAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Unfortunately+a+negative+mass,++with+negative+total+energy,+has+a+negative+inertia+so+that+it+accelerates+itself+and+the+kinetic+energy+would+tend+to+minus+infinity%22&dq=%22Unfor(contracted; show full)*[[Heat death of the universe]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Basic physics ideas]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Energy]]