Work Done on a Spring
- When a spring is stretched or compressed by a force, work is done by the spring
- Work done is the transfer of energy
- The energy is transferred to its elastic potential energy store
When a spring is stretched or compressed, there is work done and elastic potential energy is stored
- Elastic potential energy is defined as:
The energy stored in an elastic object when work is done on the object
- Provided the spring is not inelastically deformed (i.e has not exceeded its limit of proportionality), the work done on the spring and its elastic potential energy stored are equal