Force constant and its importance
Answers
Explanation:
I think you refer to the Spring force which is represented by Hook’s law to the first order (within the elasticity limit). Whenever you hear the word “constant”, it means it is CONSTANT, which means remain unchanged. Let us take the Spring force for example, if the spring is stretched and then released, the restoring force will try to pull the spring back to its original length, now there are two things: 1) the more applied force will result in more restoring force (under study). More stretch requires more applied force and accordingly more restoring force. 2) The restoring force is always in opposite direction to the displacement “stretch or compression directions”. Mathematically this is expressed as F(restoring force) is in direct proportional to the displacement, i.e. more displacement more restoring force. But by how much, e.g. how much force needed to stretch or to compress the spring by unit length, this is the Spring constant. It does;’t depend neither on the restoring force nor on the displacement, it does depend on the elasticity properties of the spring material and its underlying mechanisms of the mutual exchanged forces between the atoms and molecules forming the spring “e.g. chemical bonds”.