Skip to main content
Question Protected by Qmechanic
Tweeted twitter.com/#!/StackPhysics/status/152938660856201217
edited tags
Link
David Z
  • 76.7k
  • 27
  • 183
  • 290
Source Link
Lemon
  • 937
  • 2
  • 22
  • 33

Could someone remind me what this means again? $\nabla U = \pm F$

You know that for a potential function (conservative force/fields) that

$\nabla U = \pm \vec{F}$

In math, we don't have that minus sign, we have only the plus one.

What does it mean if you get rid of the plus sign? I remember the minus signs tells us that the force is always in the opposite direction of the increasing potential function. Does math tell me there exists a potential function such that it's force also increases as potential goes up?