Conservative force
If the work done by a force depends only on the initial and final states and not on the path taken, then it is a
conservative force.
Examples of conservative force
force of gravity
coulomb's force in electrostatics
the elastic force in a spring
Work done in raising a body against gravity is independent of the path taken. It depends only on the initial
and the final positions of the body i.e. mgh.
A force is conservative (the following definitions are all equivalent):
if it complies with the work-energy theorem: work done equals change in mechanical energy
if the work done is path-independent
if the work done on a closed path is zero:
if the overall gain or loss of mechanical energy is path-independent
if the overall gain or loss of mechanical energy on a closed path is zero
if the force is a field with a potential (in which case it can be written as minus the gradient
of the potential: , and so )
if the force is a field whose curl is zero:
Extended explanation:
A conservative force is such that- www.assorted4all.tk