What is the connection between force and energy conservation?

AI Thread Summary
The relationship between force and energy is defined by the equation energy equals force times distance. Energy is conserved in a closed system, meaning its total amount remains constant over time. In contrast, force is not considered conserved because it does not maintain a constant value across different scenarios. While there are specific situations where force can appear to be conserved, these instances are too limited to form a general principle. Understanding these distinctions is crucial in physics.
scote620
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What is the relationship between force and energy?
 
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thanks for the help
 
one other thing...

i know that energy is conserved (the total amount in a closed system is constant), but why is it incorrect to say that force is conserved?
 
scote620 said:
one other thing...

i know that energy is conserved (the total amount in a closed system is constant), but why is it incorrect to say that force is conserved?

Usually when we say that something is conserved we mean that it is constant with respect to time. The total energy of a closed system is conserved because that level of energy never changes. There are certainly situations where force might be conserved (such as the weight of a book sitting on a table), but the types of cases where this would occur would be far too restrictive to put into a general theorem.

-Dan
 

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