Does a Spring Stretch More When Attached to an Immovable Wall or When Detached?

[hatingphysics]

Two people pull on a horizontal spring that is attached to an immovable wall. Then, they detach it from the wall and pull on opposite ends of the horizontal spring. They pull just as hard in each case. In which situation, if either, does the spring stretch more?

I think that the spring would stretch more when it is attached to the immovable wall because it is immovable and the force being put on the spring is more than the 1 people. I may be wrong though!

 

[PhanthomJay]

Two people pull on a horizontal spring that is attached to an immovable wall. Then, they detach it from the wall and pull on opposite ends of the horizontal spring. They pull just as hard in each case. In which situation, if either, does the spring stretch more?

I think that the spring would stretch more when it is attached to the immovable wall because it is immovable and the force being put on the spring is more than the 1 people. I may be wrong though!

But you may be right. Okay, in the first case, you do have 2 people pulling, each with a force F. That's a 2F total force on the spring. What about in case 2? They each pull with a force F. You must explain why you think there would be less stretch in this case. What is the total force applied to the spring in this 2nd case?

 

[kyle8921]

Your reasoning is partially correct. When the spring is attached to an immovable wall, the force exerted by the two people is distributed along the entire length of the spring, resulting in a greater overall force on the spring. This would cause the spring to stretch more compared to when it is detached from the wall and the force is only applied at the ends. However, the amount of stretch also depends on the stiffness of the spring. If the spring is very stiff, it may not stretch significantly even with a greater force applied. On the other hand, if the spring is more flexible, it may stretch more even with a smaller force applied. Therefore, the answer to the question ultimately depends on the specific characteristics of the spring being used.