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earanhart t1_j6wesh6 wrote

Reply to comment by p1mrx in Suppose I have a container of water with a ball floating on top of it. I put it outside overnight and the water freezes. Since the water's volume increases as it freezes, the ball is raised. Where does the increased gravitational potential energy come from? by schematicboy

Maybe not the Sun itself, any source of energy would work (some chemical reaction such as fire, nuclear, even mechanical energy from stirring the water would convert to some thermal energy), but yes. It was already in the water when the ball was floating.

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