Let me clarify: by time, I mean the amount of time an object is able to accelerate. I was told that when an object is very high from the ground and there is minimal air resistance (essentially, the object is in free fall), the object has more potential energy because there is a longer time for gravity to act on it. If this is the case, however, why doesn't this variable of 'time' apply to smaller heights and higher air resistance (if the object isn't in free fall, basically). This probably makes no sense, but I'm trying my best to rephrase what I was told. Thanks for the help!
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$\begingroup$ So, by analogy if you keep your leg prepared to kick a ball on the ground for a very long time (say a year), then you could kick this ball to the Mars ? Apply this line of thinking to the gravity and potential fields, and you'll see that it depends only on body interaction type, not how long they interacts. $\endgroup$– Agnius VasiliauskasCommented May 15 at 21:34
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the object has more potential energy because there is a longer time for gravity to act on it
No. If an object of mass $m$ is at a height $h$ and going up, it has the same potential energy of another object, with the same mass and height, but going down. However the first one takes more time to reach the ground. The fact that gravity acts on it longer while it is in free fall doesn't affect its potential energy.
answered May 15 at 22:00
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$\begingroup$ What did you mean by "going up vs. going down?" Can you explain? I am just listing what I heard so I'm not exactly sure about any of this. I think what was meant is that the longer an object falls, the more it accelerates, and it accelerates more with less air resistance. I was just wondering if this related to potential energy, and if so, how it does. $\endgroup$ Commented May 16 at 0:44
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$\begingroup$ The object at a given height at a given time can have any velocity. It can be zero, but can also be 5 m/s upward, or 8 m/s downward for example. Depending on this velocity, it can stay shorter or longer in the air before crushes on the ground. $\endgroup$ Commented May 16 at 10:22