The intricacies of spring expansion

[freemind]

Howdy,

I don't know how to solve this problem:

2 identical pieces of steel wire of equal length were used to manufacture 2 springs. Diameter of the 1st spring coil was d, diameter of second was 2d. Both springs were then loaded with equal masses. As a result, the first spring stretched to 1/10 of its initial length.
What was the percent elongation of the 2nd spring?

I've found (through arc-length integration of two space-curves) that the two coils are in a length ratio of \frac{\sqrt{5}}{\sqrt{2}}[\tex]. Now what? I don&#039;t know how a change in coil length affects the spring constant. I&#039;m quite sure that the spring constant is different for the double-diameter coil, but don&#039;t know <b>how</b> it differs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[wais]

Hi there,

It seems like you are trying to solve a problem related to the expansion of springs and the relationship between their length and spring constant. I'm not an expert in this area, but I can offer some general guidance that may help you solve this problem.

Firstly, let's clarify the concept of spring expansion. When a spring is loaded with a mass, it stretches or expands due to the force applied. This expansion is directly proportional to the applied force, which is known as Hooke's Law. In other words, the more force applied, the more the spring will expand.

Now, in your problem, you have two identical springs with different coil diameters. The first spring, with a diameter of d, is loaded with a mass and stretches to 1/10 of its initial length. The second spring, with a diameter of 2d, is also loaded with the same mass. You are trying to find the percent elongation of the second spring.

To solve this problem, you need to understand the relationship between the spring's length and its spring constant. The spring constant, denoted by k, is a measure of the stiffness of a spring. It is a constant value that relates the force applied to the amount of stretch or compression of the spring. In other words, the higher the spring constant, the stiffer the spring, and the less it will stretch for a given force.

Now, in your problem, you have two springs of equal length and material, but with different coil diameters. This means that their spring constants will be different. The spring constant is inversely proportional to the coil diameter, so the spring with a diameter of 2d will have a lower spring constant compared to the spring with a diameter of d.

To find the percent elongation of the second spring, you will need to use the formula for Hooke's Law: F = -kx, where F is the force applied, k is the spring constant, and x is the displacement or expansion of the spring. Since the first spring expands to 1/10 of its initial length, we can say that x = 1/10L, where L is the initial length of the spring.

Now, to find the spring constant of the second spring, we can use the ratio you found, \frac{\sqrt{5}}{\sqrt{2}}[\tex]. This ratio represents the relationship between the lengths of the two springs. So,