Can Springs and Capacitors Be Compared in Energy Storage?

[sid.shah.90]

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?

 

[TVP45]

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.