| Hooke's Law |
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Hooke's law of elasticity is an approximation that states that the extension of a spring is in direct proportion with the load added to it as long as this load does not exceed the elastic limit. |
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Hooke's law is named after the British physicist Robert Hooke. |
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For systems that obey Hooke's law, the extension produced is directly proportional to the load,
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F = -k X
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where, X = The distance that the spring has been stretched or
compressed away from the equilibrium position, which is the
position where the spring would naturally come to rest (meters).
F = The restoring force exerted by the material (newtons)
k
= The force constant (also termed as spring constant) |
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The unit of force constant is force per unit length (newtons per meter) |
