Thread: Gravity as "negative" energy?

I've recently been introduced to the idea of a "Zero-energy Universe" which states the total mass/energy of the physical matter in the Universe is a positive quantity that is exactly equal to the negative energy of gravity, leaving the overall total amount of energy in the Universe at zero.

How well regarded is this idea? I've never heard of gravity being called negative energy before.

Originally Posted by Daecon

How well regarded is this idea?

While the concept is firmly rooted in mainstream physics, I would give the "zero-energy universe" the status of an hypothesis. It is not something that is taught in textbooks as current scientific consensus.

Gravity in terms of potential energy and work.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/gpot.html


http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu...gravpe.html#c1

Hi Daecon,
You can check this lecture about inflation by Alan Guth. In particular he explains why gravitational potential energy is negative.
Inflationary Cosmology Guth ONE TWO - YouTube
Nic.