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Summary

• Conservation Laws are the most powerful laws of physics
• Important conclusions with no details
• We considered them in the context of Newton’s laws
• Really more general. These will still apply in the new revolutions of physics
• Conservation of Momentum (Vector)
• For an isolated system (no external forces) the momentum is conserved
• The magnitude and direction never changes!
• Conservation of Energy
• Energy comes in many forms. One form can be converted into another, but the total never changes!
• Applies to an isolated system
• If system is not isolated, the change of energy exactly equals the energy added from the rest of the world (e.g. work)
• No free lunch!
• Next Time: The Second Law of Thermodynamics and Entropy
• Read for Next Time: Lightman, Ch. 2