Originally posted by Galan777
hmmm, Potential energy only has the [B]Potential to become Kinetic energy, hence its name..... [/B]
Exodus explained it quite simply and to the point, some thing which I tried and missed doing in my last few post.
Gravitational potential energy is the energy that would be released if an object in a gravitational field (such as the earth's gravitational field) were allowed to fall from its current position to a given reference level (such as the surface of the earth). Equivalently, it is the energy required to raise the object from the reference level to the given height.
Still even when in orbit its molecules, still have kinetic energy, as all things do.