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Full Idea
Helmholtz crucially asserted that all forces conserve the sum of kinetic and potential energy; superficially non-conservative forces like friction are simply macroscopic manifestations of more fundamental forces conserving energy at the micro-level.
Gist of Idea
All forces conserve the sum of kinetic and potential energy
Source
report of Hermann von Helmholtz (On the Conservation of Force [1847]) by David Papineau - Thinking about Consciousness App 4.3
Book Ref
Papineau,David: 'Thinking about Consciousness' [OUP 2004], p.246
A Reaction
Friction had been a problem case, because it appeared not to conserve energy when it slowed movement down.
20646 | Helmholtz used 'energy' to mathematically link heat, light, electricity and magnetism [Helmholtz, by Watson] |
20973 | All forces conserve the sum of kinetic and potential energy [Helmholtz, by Papineau] |