So we are studying about springs, as of now, the assumption is that they are massless.
My teacher told me that when we extend a spring, or compress it, there is a force called the spring force which tries to reform the spring back it its original form. This force acts inwards and outwards respectively.
He also told us that the magnitude of this force is equal to the force we apply.
What I want to ask is why it this force always equal to the force we compress the spring with?
Wouldn't the equality suggest that the spring will still remain deformed? If equal amount of force is coming from both sides, and if the spring is deformed then wouldnt it remain deformed?
Shouldnt the spring force be slightly greater than the external force to reform the spring?
Best Answer
Well, think of it this way: as you push into a spring the more it gets deformed and the more it gets deformed the more it pushes back. Eventually, you reach a position when the applied force is just equal to the force of the spring and at that moment you cannot push further and the spring is at rest now. The spring will remain at this deformed state until the external force is removed.