Elastic potential Energy

*This is the energy an object has in it due to being deformed.

Any object that can be deformed and then return to its original
shape can have elastic potential energy.
*Any object that can be deformed and then return to its original
shape
can have elastic potential energy.
*Objects that this would apply to include things like rubber
bands, sponges, and bungee cords, among many others. When
you deform these objects they move back to their original shape
on their own.
In order to find the formula for elastic potential energy
of a spring we first need to look at something
called Hooke's law.
This law states that the force needed to stretch a
spring is proportional to the displacement of
the spring. The displacement of the spring is
how far the spring has stretched or
compressed from its original shape.
 Mathematically Hooke's law can take
the following forms.
F=-kx
F=kx
Here x is the displacement of the spring, and k is
something known as the spring constant. This
constant is the measure of the stiffness of a
spring, and it is unique to each spring. The spring
constant depends on factors such as what
material the spring is made of and the thickness
of the coiled wire, among others.
Hooke's Law
 Finding Elastic Potential Energy
So, why do we need to know all this to find the elastic potential energy? Well,
that's because the potential energy is equal to the work done by the spring,
and work is a force multiplied by a distance. So Hooke's law gives us our
force. For the distance, we use the displacement of the spring. You might
assume we would get the formula for elastic potential energy as follows.
PE = Work = force * distance
So:
PE = (k x) * x
This then simplifies to:
PE = k x^2
However, this turns out to be wrong. To see the correct equation for elastic
potential energy we need to look at a force vs. displacement graph.

The are under this curve is work done by the

spring
Applications