CH7 Potential Energy and Energy Conservation
 

Conservative force (±£ÊØÁ¦)
A force is a conservative force if the net work it does on a particle moving along a closed path from an initial point and then back to that point is zero. Or,equivalently, it is conservative if its work on a particle moving between two points does not depend on the path taken by the particle.
A potential energy can be associated with? any conservative force,
 
Force and potential energy
Example: gravitational potential energy
Example: elastic potential energy
 
Force and potential energy
Example: elastic potential energy in 2D
Example: potential energy of an electrically charged particle
 
Conservative or nonconservative?
Example: The force on an electron is F=Cxj, where C is a positive constant. The electron moves in a counter-clockwise direction around the loop shown in the figure. Calculate the work done on the electron. Is this force conservative or not?

 
The potential energy curve for motion of a particle
 · Refer the potential energy function and its corresponding components of force.

  Next page