Conservation and Interconversion of Energy
Of the three great conservation laws of classical mechanics, the conservation of energy is regarded as the most important. According to this law, the mechanical energy of an isolated system remains constant in time, as long as the system is free of all frictional forces, including eventual internal friction from collisions of the objects of the system. In any real situation, frictional forces and other non-conservative forces are always present, but in many cases their effects on the system are so small that the principle of conservation of mechanical energy can be used as a fair approximation. Though energy cannot be created nor destroyed in an isolated system, it can be internally converted to any other form of energy.
Read more about this topic: Mechanical Energy
Famous quotes containing the words conservation and/or energy:
“The putting into force of laws which shall secure the conservation of our resources, as far as they may be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, including the more important work of saving and restoring our forests and the great improvement of waterways, are all proper government functions which must involve large expenditure if properly performed.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“The principle of avoiding the unnecessary expenditure of energy has enabled the species to survive in a world full of stimuli; but it prevents the survival of the aristocracy.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)