One of the most simple yet amazing inventions of science is spring. It allows us to use elastic energy just when we need it. And this simple tool opened the door for the development of many amazing mechanical devices we use everyday, such as pendulum clocks, wind-up toys, rat traps and so on.
Before any instrument like this can be used widely, it is necessary to have a fundamental understanding of the mechanics involved. When it comes to springs, it involves the laws of elasticity, torsion, and force which work together. And this is what Hooke’s Law is about, which explains how they work together.
Hooke’s Law is a physical principle that describes the amount of force required to compress a spring by a certain distance. That law says that such force is proportional to the distance it is compressed. The law is named after the British physicist Robert Hooke, who worked in the 17th century to illustrate the association between the force exerted on a spring and the elasticity of the spring.
Mathematically, it is expressed as F= -Kx, where F means the force exerted on the spring and X is the distance by which the spring compresses. It has a negative value which shows the displacement of a stretched spring. Apart from these, K is the spring constant, which specifies how stiff the spring is.
When it comes to elasticity, Hooke’s law is considered to be the first typical explanation of these forces. In simple words, it is the ability of an object that allows it to get restored to its actual shape after being distorted by pressure.
