 If the work done by a force on a body that moves from "A" to "B" does not depend on the path between these points (if the work is done by a conservative force), then the work of this force measured from "A" assigns a scalar value to every other point in space and defines a scalar potential field.In this case, the force can be defined as the negative of the vector gradient of the potential field.If the work for an applied force is independent of the path, then the work done by the force is evaluated at the start and end of the trajectory of the point of application.