The work done by a force is . By the work-energy theorem, this has the same physical dimension as energy. Thus
Although torque and energy have the same physical dimension, they represent different physical quantities.
The work done along the trajectory is
By Newton's second law, , so
This is the work-energy theorem: the work equals the change in kinetic energy.
A force is conservative when its work between two points is independent of the path, equivalently when it is the negative gradient of a potential energy. Here a potential with is
Conservation of energy for gives
Thus
If , the particle escapes with asymptotic speed ; the graph decreases from to this horizontal asymptote. At the escape velocity , it decreases as and approaches zero only at infinity. If , it reaches the turning point
where , then returns on the negative branch of the same curve and oscillates symmetrically about the origin.
For oscillation put . One quarter of the period is
where . Therefore