Elastic Forces¶
If we expand or contract a spring under force it behaves in certain way.
We can describe this behavior using Hooke’s law.
Hooke’s law¶
For springs, the spring force is approximately proportional to the distance x by which the spring is stretched or compressed.
\[
F_{\text{spr}} = -kx
\]
\(k \ge 0\) is a proportionality constant (force constant)
its units are \(N/m\)
it is higher for stronger strings, and vice versa