Elastic Potential Energy
Elastic potential energy is
Potential energy stored as a result of deformation of an elastic object, such as the stretching of a spring. It is equal to the
work done to stretch the spring, which depends upon the spring constant k as well as the distance stretched. According to
Hooke's law, the
force required to stretch the spring will be directly proportional to the amount of stretch.
Since the force
has the form
F = -kx
then the work done to stretch the
spring a distance x is
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Index Energy concepts
Spring Potential Energy
Since the change in
Potential energy of an object between two positions is equal to the
work that must be done to move the object from one point to the other, the calculation of potential energy is equivalent to calculating the work. Since the force required to stretch a spring changes with distance, the calculation of the work involves an
integral.
The work can also be visualized as
the area under the force curve:
Index Energy concepts