Conservative forces

Introduction

The idea of force is a critical part of physics that all physicists should be familiar with. When examining it, it is essential not to overlook its many forms, including both conservative and non-conservative elements. Because of this, understanding how to define conservative force is a necessary topic for students to learn.

What is a conservative force?

A conservative force is a force used to move a particle from one location to another, where the force is independent of the direction the particle takes. The particle’s starting and final positions are all that matters. The conservative force is distinguished because it operates by the rule of conservation of energy as its primary feature.

 All of the forces that fall under the category of conservative forces are characterised by their tendency to preserve energy from one form to the other. Examples of conservation forces are gravitational and elastic spring forces.

Properties of conservative forces

We are subjected to conservative forces that are regularly encountered and employed in our daily lives. As a result, we need to be familiar with the properties of conservative force to detect it more quickly. 

• Conservative force is dependent solely on the starting location and the final position    of the body travelling, rather than on the route that the body is travelling.
• Work done by the conservative force in any closed path will always be zero.
• Work done by a conservative force is reversible.
• When a conservative force is applied, stored or potential energy is produced.
• It is possible to restore the work and energy associated with the force.

Non-conservative force

The non-conservative force is entirely contradictory to the conservative force in every way. It does not operate per the rule of energy conservation; instead, the energy lost is not restored in this instance. The path travelled by the body as it is travelling is what determines the non-conservative force. It changes the mechanical energy, which includes both potential and kinetic energy, by adding or subtracting it.

Friction is an example of a force that does not behave conventionally.

Properties of non-conservative force

In many ways, it’s the opposite of conservative ideology. Properties of non-conservative force are as mentioned below:

• Because it is path-dependent, it is influenced by the speed at which the vehicle is travelling.
• A non-conservative force’s contribution isn’t zero, not even when the path is closed.
• The work done by non-conservative forces is irreversible.

Conservation of energy

The development of living forms on Earth necessitates the use of energy. We are aware that energy may be found in nature in various ways. You have learned about several types of energy, such as heat, electricity, chemical, nuclear, and so on.

The law of energy conservation holds that energy cannot be generated or destroyed and cannot be transformed into another form. Despite this, converting it from one shape to another is possible. Taken into account, the total energy of an isolated system always stays constant when all types of energy are taken into consideration. The rule of energy conservation applies to all kinds of energy, regardless of their source.

Formula of the law of conservation of energy

Let’s understand the formula of law of conservation of energy, 

The following is an example of an energy conservation statement:

Expenditure of energy in one activity is a gain in the other.

We may write, for example, for a given system.

ΔEsys=Ein–Eout

Heat (Q), mass (m), and work (W) are all kinds of energy that may be transferred into or out of a system (W). As a result, the equation above may be rewritten as follows:

Ein−Eout=Q−W

This equation represents the law of conservation of energy on a mass-based basis by dividing all components into both sides of the previous equation by the system’s mass. Below, you’ll find a visual representation of this:

Q−W=ΔE

As a result, the equation for energy rate conservation may be written as follows:

Q−W=dE/dt

Examples 

• Electrical energy is transformed into sound energy in a loudspeaker.
• An electrical generator is a device that converts mechanical power into electrical power.
• Chemical energy is transformed into heat and light energy when fuels are burned.
• During digestion, food’s chemical energy is transformed into thermal energy, utilised to warm the body.
• Electricity is generated from a torch’s stored chemical energy, transformed into visible light and thermal energy.

Conclusion

Conservative and non-conservative forces are equally crucial for nature. A force is conservative if it follows the law of conservation of energy. When it comes to saving energy, it’s not about reducing the number of resources that will eventually run out. It would be great to save resources by limiting demand and giving them time to regenerate. The most efficient approach to achieve this is to utilise a different source of energy instead of the one being replaced.