In the theory of gravitation, or of other forces acting
in space, a function of the rectangular coordinates which determine the
position of a point, such that its differential coefficients with
respect to the coordinates are equal to the components of the force at
the point considered; – also called potential function, or force
function. It is called also Newtonian potential when the force is
directed to a fixed center and is inversely as the square of the
distance from the center.