Gravitational attraction falls off as 1 / r^2; potential energy falls off as 1 / r. The former (a force) is the derivative of the latter. https://en.wikipedia.

Gravitational attraction falls off as 1 / r^2; potential energy falls off as 1 / r. The former (a force) is the derivative of the latter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_energy#Newtonian_mechanics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_energy#Newtonian...