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MotionLab
Hooke's Law in action — how much energy a compressed or stretched spring stores.
Force increases linearly with displacement (F = kx) per Hooke's Law, so the work done (and energy stored) is the area under that linear force curve — a triangle, which gives ½kx². Double the compression stores four times the energy, not two.
Springs aren't just metal coils — atomic bonds, guitar strings, diving boards, and even the suspension in your car all follow Hooke's Law (within their elastic limit). The same ½kx² formula applies to molecular vibrations in spectroscopy and to the oscillation of buildings during earthquakes.
Potential energy (J)
0.25
PE = ½kx²
What you entered
Spring force: F = k|x|
200 × 0.05= 10 NPotential energy: PE = ½kx²
0.5 × 200 × 0.05²= 0.25 JResult
Potential energy (J): 0.25
A spring (k = 200 N/m) compressed 0.05 m stores 0.25 J of potential energy with a restoring force of 10 N.