Can somebody explain conservative and non-conservative force to me?

Question

In the simplest terms you can put it in. All I know is that conservative forces are reversible, but I don't really understand why.

Answer 1

The simplest terms? Take a pendulum. If it swings frictionlessly in a vacuum, it will always swing up to the same maximum height, which is also maximum potential energy. The gravitational field is a "conservative force field", meaning that the sum of potential and kinetic energy is conserved. If I pour water into the apparatus, so that there's considerable friction, it's not a conservative force any more, and the pendulum damps very quickly. Gravitational potential energy has been spent in heating up the water, thereby diminishing the sum of potential and kinetic energy of the particle.

The complicated answer is that if work done on a particle is path dependent, then it's a non-conservative force field. If it's path independent, the it's a conservative force field. Work done on a particle is computed by the integral
∫ F(s) ds, where F is the vector force acting on the particle at point s along its path length. It's quite readily possible to construct "non physical abstract force fields" that are non-conservative, as for example a "whirlpool force vector field", which have no counterpart in physical reality, but is analyzable mathematically. No need to call on friction or other energy dissipating means.

Answer 2

Conservative forces are just as they say , are conserved. Energy input=Energy output, Non-conservative forces are like friction, drag etc.