Säilymislakia

Säilymislakia, meaning "law of conservation" in Finnish, refers to fundamental principles in physics stating that certain quantities remain constant in an isolated system over time. The most well-known of these are the laws of conservation of mass, energy, momentum, and angular momentum.

The law of conservation of mass, established by Antoine Lavoisier, states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction or physical transformation. The total mass of reactants before a reaction equals the total mass of products after the reaction. This principle is a cornerstone of chemistry.

The law of conservation of energy, articulated by scientists like James Prescott Joule, posits that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another. For instance, potential energy can be converted into kinetic energy. This law is central to thermodynamics and many other fields of physics.

Conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of a closed system remains constant. Momentum is the product of an object's mass and velocity. In collisions, the total momentum of the objects before the collision is equal to their total momentum after.

Conservation of angular momentum applies to rotating systems. It asserts that the total angular momentum of an isolated system remains constant. An ice skater pulling their arms in to spin faster is a common demonstration of this principle. These conservation laws are essential for understanding and predicting the behavior of physical systems.