In fluid mechanics, the force density is the negative gradient of pressure.

The force can be written as the negative gradient of a potential, :

For inferior goods, the Engel curve has a negative gradient.

A central force is a conservative field, that is, it can always be expressed as the negative gradient of a potential:

To reach the goal position, a robot only needs to follow the negative gradient of the surface.

The force on an atom is defined as the negative gradient of the potential energy function.

Compute the outer product of and and call this the negative gradient.

The effective force, then, is the negative gradient of the effective potential:

The negative gradient of pressure is called the force density.

The negative potential gradient falls rapidly as altitude increases from the ground.