A deformed linear spring stores elastic potential energy.
Difficulty
Beginner
Read time
5 min
Prerequisites
Basic algebra and consistent SI units
Source
OpenStax, College Physics 2e, §16.5 (Paul Peter Urone and Roger Hinrichs)Textbook reference retained from the OpenFormulaGraph dataset; adaptation credits and license are provided below.
Adapted from OpenFormulaGraph, under CC BY 4.0.
FormuLab adapted the notation, explanations, assumptions, and topic placement, and expanded the numerical check into a worked example. The textbook section link was corrected.
A deformed linear spring stores elastic potential energy. Stretching and compressing it by the same magnitude store equal energy because deformation is squared. This energy belongs to the spring interaction.
| Symbol | Meaning | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Elastic potential energy | ||
| Spring stiffness | ||
| Signed deformation from relaxed length |
Estimate energy stored in a deformed spring.
Compare spring energy at different positions.
A spring with stiffness 200 N/m is deformed by 0.0500 m. Find its stored energy relative to the relaxed spring.
Textbook reference retained from the OpenFormulaGraph dataset; adaptation credits and license are provided below.
Adapted from OpenFormulaGraph, under CC BY 4.0.
FormuLab adapted the notation, explanations, assumptions, and topic placement, and expanded the numerical check into a worked example. The textbook section link was corrected.
Assumptions
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