Show that the elastic force of a spring is a conservative force. Hence
write an expression for the potential energy of an elastic stretched spring.
Answers
Answer:
There exists a third category: Force of constraint
Force of constraint aren't either conservative or non- conservative force because they never work (positive or negative) of their own ( only Transmit work from other forces). I suppose if you had to classify a force of constraint, it would be constraint it would be conservative, since it doesn't cause any irreversible process.
Forces of constraint either always act perpendicular to motion, or prevent motion in their direction.
conservative force will have an associated energy, such that when such a force does positive work on a body, the body change from having potential energy to kinetic energy. The opposite occurs when a conservative force slows down said object.
Non- conservative force are force for which we aren't really interested in tracking associated energy, and even if we were interested it tracking said energy, processes involving non- conservative force and irreversible, and it is useless to define an associated potential energy.