- #1
Hajarmq
- 8
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Let F_ki be the force applied by a point mass i on a point mass k. This force depends on the variables x_k and x_i which are the position vectors of respectively k and i (to simplify let´'s consider this in 1 dimension). Suppose this force is conservative. Then, according to my course and wikipedia, it can be written as:
My question is: why is the partial derivative with respect to x_k, the coordinate of the point mass the force is applied on? Why not x_i, or both x_i and x_k, since the potential depends on both of them?
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