Conservative force

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Conservative forces are those that possess certain properties[1]:

1. The work it does on a particle is independent of its trajectory.

2. The work done on a particle that moves along a closed trajectory (where the initial and final positions are the same, or di = df) = 0) is zero.

When the only forces present in a system are conservative, mechanical energy is conserved.

Examples of Conservative Forces:

Gravitational Force.

Force performed by a spring.

References

  1. Serway and Beichner, Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Fifth Edition