The gravitational field of a disk

This note gives the gravitational potential of the disk {(x, y, z):x ² +y ² p ² , z=0} and the gravitational field at the point (x, y, z). Formulas for a ring can be obtained as the difference of our results for two different values ofp. Results are obtained in terms of elliptic integrals and we indicate how these functions can be computed efficiently. Formulas necessary for the computation of partial derivatives are also given.This paper presents the results of one phase of research carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under Contract NAS7-100, sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.