All Questions
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Why can a force field only be conservative if it is spherically symmetric?
I saw in my textbook that a field can only be conservative if it happens to be spherically symmetric. Why is this so? Is there a good proof for this?
user274567
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What do we understand by a force being central?
Gravity is said to be a central force. But the resultant force field of multiple bodies is no longer central as it has many attraction points.
My Doubts:
Is the idea of a force being central ...
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All central forces are conservative forces, but are all conservative forces central forces?
I have just been introduced to the concept of central forces, and to the fact that they are per definition conservative forces. I have looked up several examples of central forces (gravity, electric, ...
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5
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Does a central force have to be independent of angle?
When defining a central force, some sources, like Wikipedia, say that the magnitude of the force only depends on the distance $r$:
In classical mechanics, a central force on an object is a force ...
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