Hooke’s Law Statement

Hooke’s condition is applied in numerous circumstances wherein an elastic body is distorted. The occurrences may include the wind blowing on a tall building or an artist playing the guitar. The condition is linear-elastic or Hookean more often than not for the elastic body or material. Robert Hooke demonstrated and explained the phenomenon of elasticity in spring when force is applied to it. Hooke’s law statement was the first to describe the phenomenon that an object will always try to revert to its original state after distortion. The property of elasticity was defined as the integral property of an elastic object.

Hooke’s Law Statement

The spring is the wonder of ergonomics and creativity. It comes in many varieties — compression springs, torsion springs, extension springs, coil springs, etc. They all perform specific functions. With these features of springs, you can create many artificial objects. Most of them originated or were developed as part of the late 17th- and 18th-century scientific revolution.

Hooke’s law statement explains that the force required to stretch or compress a spring to a certain distance is relative to its distance. This law is named after the English physicist Robert Hooke; he proved the relationship between the elasticity of spring and the force applied to it. He first stated the law in a Latin anagram where he used the word tension for the first time to explain stress.

Stress is the resistance presented towards deformation by applying an external force to the unit area. The pressure is applied towards the strain at the same time when it is caused via the means of the material. A loaded member stays in equilibrium while the externally carried out load and the pressure because of deformation are equal.

Stress can be of different types, like compressive stress, tensile stress or shear stress. 

Due to the shearing action of the external force, stress generated in a material is called shear force. The tension caused by the shortening of materials in the body is called compressive force. The stress is prompted in the body by the elongation of the external load applied to the material. It leads to the stretching of the material.

Hooke’s statement for a spring states that when an elastic material such as a spring is stretched by force (F), molecules and atoms are deformed until stress is applied, and when the stress is removed, they return to their original state.

The equation is written as:

F= -kx

Where F = force (Newton)

k = spring constant

x = compression or extension of the spring. 

The negative sign of Hooke’s law describes the force as a restoring force that tries to return the spring to the equilibrium position.

Strain is when an external force is applied to an object to change the dimensions of the object. Strain is expressed as the ratio of changes in the body dimensions to the original body dimensions. Summing together stress and strain, Hooke’s law statement explains their relationship. As long as the stress is acting, it remains in the body, and when the stress is removed, the body regains its shape. The property of this material is called elasticity. Therefore, Hooke’s law is the basis of elasticity, known as the principle of elasticity or the elasticity law.

The relation can be given as

Stress = strain x Modulus of Elasticity 

The equation of the relation is σ = E x ε

Where σ = longitudinal abnormal stress

E = Young’s modulus 

Longitudinal or normal strain = ε

Hooke’s Law statement importance

Hooke’s law statement is very important for materials with elasticity. The importance of the statement lies in understanding the elastic limit and the limit of proportionality. Elastic limit is the maximum force per unit area in a solid material that can occur before permanent deformation begins. When the stress is removed to the elastic limit, the material returns to its original shape and size. Stress that exceeds the elastic limit can cause the material to flow or yield. In this case, the elastic limit concludes elastic behaviour, and the plastic behaviour then starts for such materials.

The elastic limit is almost the same as the proportional limit of some elastic materials, so the two may not be distinguished. On the other hand, there is an area of ​​non-proportional elasticity between the two for other materials. The limit of proportionality is the endpoint of the so-called linear elastic behaviour.

Application of Hooke’s Law

Hooke’s law has many real-life applications. Some of the applications of Hooke’s law are:

• It is a fundamental principle behind spring scales, pressure gauges, guitar strings, and watch balance wheels.
• Hooke’s law forms the basis of seismology and molecular mechanics.
• It is used in physics and engineering applications like manometer and bourdon tubes. 

Limitations of Hooke’s Law

The limitations of Hooke’s law are as follows:

• Hooke’s law is not a universal principle and applies only to materials unless the material is stretched beyond its capacity.
• Hooke’s law applies to solids only when the deformation and force are small.
• Many materials already deviate from Hooke’s law before reaching their elastic limits.

Conclusion

Hooke’s law statement explains that the force required to stretch or compress a spring to a certain distance is relative to its distance. It defined that the property of elasticity was the integral property of an elastic object. Hooke’s law can be written as F = −kx. F no longer means the applied force in this equation but the equivalent restoring force that returns the elastic material to its original dimensions. Hooke’s law has many applications in our daily life. For example, It is a basic principle behind spring scales, pressure gauges, guitar strings and watches, balance wheels, seismographs, etc. Hooke’s law statement notes include all the important points needed.