[Physics] Do two springs compressed springs placed against each other obey Newton’s third law

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I've been mulling over the following scenario.

Say I take two springs whose force is given by some well-defined function of position (for example, Hooke's law F=kx will do). Using this law, I choose to compress spring A by a distance x that will guarantee me that the spring will exert a force of 10N.

I then choose to compress spring B by a distance such that it will exert a force of 7N.

I put the two springs next to each other, release them and allow each to exert its force against the other. It's easier to imagine along the horizontal axis, and we can ignore gravity and friction and any other potential meddlers.

Spring A should exert a force of 10N on spring B according to its force law and compression, but spring B should exert force of 7N back on spring A according to ITS force law and compression.

Thus the force that spring A exerts on spring B is NOT equal and opposite to the force spring B exerts on spring A.

This is a violation of Newton's Third law. What am I missing here?

Best Answer

Here is a simpler version of your paradox:

Suppose I take a spring at equilibrium and push on the end of it with a force of ten Newtons. After a very short time, the spring has not compressed appreciably, so the $F=-kx$ law says the force it exerts on my hand is nearly zero, but Newton's third law says it must be ten Newtons. Which is right?

The second answer, that the spring exerts a ten-Newton force on my hand, is right. The spring is a dynamical object. Try thinking of it as 100 springs each with .01 the mass and 100 times the spring constant all connected in series. What you'll see is that the first spring, the one I'm touching, can be more compressed than the second, third, fourth ones etc. The spring doesn't have uniform tension in it any more, which is the assumption behind the $F = -kx$ law.

In other words, Hooke's law is built on assumptions, and when your spring is massive and accelerating differently in different parts, as real springs do, those assumptions fail. Your two springs will exert equal and opposite forces on one another as Newton's third law dictates.