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Potential Energy of a body 1. The energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position or configuration is called its potential . It is measured by the amount of  work  that the body can do in changing its present position to some other position above the surface of earth or changing its configuration. It can also be measured by the amount of work done by the body to return to the surface of earth from some higher position or to the original configuration from changed configuration. Potential Energy 2.  Some examples of potential energy due to position: a) Water at higher level (stored in reservoirs) has a huge amount of  gravitational potential energy  due to which it can be drive a water turbine, when allowed to fall down. This is the principle which is used to generate hydroelectricity. b) A lifted weight possesses a potential energy because the work done to raise the weight is stored in it in the form of potential energy . If a lifted weigh...