Cookie jar on the shelf has higher potential energy than on the floor. (Source: © rangizzz / stock.adobe.com)

Energy stored in an object depending on the relative position of the object. Potential gravitational energy is the energy of an object placed in a gravitational field. The higher it is, the more energy it has (an object falling from ten meters will do more work than an object falling from ten centimeters). A compressed or stretched spring has elastic potential energy. The conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy is often used in hydroelectric power plants, where water falling from a reservoir high above the turbine, and therefore with high potential energy, acquires high kinetic energy.