The effective mass of the spring in a spring-mass system when using an ideal spring of uniform linear density is 1/3 of the mass of the spring and is independent of the direction of the spring-mass system (i.e., horizontal, vertical, and oblique systems all have the same effective mass). If you push the spring, however, it pushes back, and if you pull the spring, it pulls back.\r\n

Hookes law is valid as long as the elastic material youre dealing with stays elastic that is, it stays within its . If you pull a spring too far, it loses its stretchy ability. As you make your morning coffee, your dog starts whimpering and you realize theyre unwell. How does spring length affect the spring constant? The spring in the shock absorber will, at a minimum, have to give you 2,450 newtons of force at the maximum compression of 0.5 meters. How strong do the springs have to be? The elastic potential energy is equal to the work done (ignoring losses to heat or other wastage), and you can easily calculate it based on the distance the spring has been stretched if you know the spring constant for the spring. The variables of the equation are F, which represents force, k, which is called the spring constant and measures how stiff and strong the spring is, and x, the distance the spring is stretched or compressed away from its equilibrium or rest position.\r\n\r\nThe force exerted by a spring is called a restoring force; it always acts to restore the spring toward equilibrium.\r\n\r\nIn Hookes law, the negative sign on the springs force means that the force exerted by the spring opposes the springs displacement.\r\n

Understanding springs and their direction of force

\r\n\"direction\r\n
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The direction of force exerted by a spring
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\r\nThe preceding figure shows a ball attached to a spring. A nurse is caring for a child who is experiencing status asthmaticus. Therefore, F = 5 * 0.4. He has authored Dummies titles including Physics For Dummies and Physics Essentials For Dummies. Dr. Holzner received his PhD at Cornell.

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