The sum of the two paths is equal to the result obtained for the direct path. This also means that the closed contour integral will yield zero. However, the fact that the closed contour integral on a particular path is zero does not necessarily mean the given field is conservative. In other words, we cannot say that this particular field is conservative unless we can show that the closed contour integral is zero for any contour. We will discuss this important aspect of fields later in this chapter.