The use of the conservation of living force before Helmholtz (Q6557162)

The author's purpose is to discuss the formal affinity between the principle of conservation of living force (vis-viva) and analytical mechanics. In the paper, the author focuses on work by Hermann Helmholtz on the principle of conservation of living force. It also discusses work carried out by Kenneth Caneva on the tradition of living forces in analytical mechanics and briefly addresses discussions by scientists in the analytical tradition who limited conservation to specific mechanical systems. However, the author's focus in this paper is Caneva's claim that the principle of conservation of living force (vis-viva) was asserted only for a system that returns to a state without accelerating forces. The author shows that the principle was discussed and used also for systems under integrable forces, where the value of the living forces was not constant. It was also used when vis-viva -- with $mv$, where $m$ is the mass and $v$ the velocity -- was not considered. Still, its sum with twice a function equal to the modern potential $V$ was constant, that is, $mv^2 + V$ as defined by J. L. Lagrange. Finally, the author states there are small errors in Caneva's publications on the context of the creation and reception of energy conservation, and it is necessary to correct these errors. The paper contains the following sections: 1. Introduction; 2. Lagrange; 3. Poisson; 4. Navier; 5. The engineering analytical tradition; 6. Pontécoulant; 7. The conservation of living forces and the denial of perpetual motion; 8. Conclusions.