Can Springs and Capacitors Be Compared in Energy Storage?

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SUMMARY

This discussion establishes a clear analogy between springs and capacitors in terms of energy storage and loss. The equilibrium condition for a spring, represented by the formula k = mg/y, illustrates that half of the gravitational potential energy (G.P.E) is lost as elastic potential energy (P.E). Similarly, when charging a capacitor, the energy lost by the battery (qV) is also half of the energy gained by the capacitor (1/2(qV)). The conversation suggests that while springs and capacitors share similarities, understanding capacitor fundamentals is essential for deeper insights.

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  • Understanding of Hooke's Law and spring constants
  • Basic principles of gravitational potential energy (G.P.E)
  • Fundamentals of capacitors and electric charge
  • Knowledge of RC circuits and damping effects
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sid.shah.90
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Hello All,
I just read in a book that springs are pretty much analogous to capacitors in terms of energy considerations to capacitors.
For eg.
If a mass m suspended by a spring comes to rest after downward displacement y,
Assuming compression = y

for equilibrium, mg=ky
thus k = mg/y
loss in G.P.E for the block =mgy
gain in elastic P.E of spring = 1/2(ky^2)
= 1/2(mgy)
----->Half energy is wasted
can't this be compared to charging of capacitor by a battery?
energy lost by battery = qV
but energy gained by capacitor =1/2(qV)
------> Half energy is wasted

I have difficulty in solving capacitor probs.
Does this mean that springs can be used instead of them?
 
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IMHO, the analogy works better for a heavily damped spring and an RC circuit. I would recommend getting thoroughly familiar with capacitor basics before looking at analogs.
 

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