What is the relationship between spring constant and stiffness?

AI Thread Summary
The spring constant, denoted as k in Hooke's law (F=-kx), directly relates to a spring's stiffness. A larger spring constant indicates that the spring is more difficult to compress or stretch, requiring more force for the same displacement. Specifically, a spring with twice the spring constant will need twice the force to achieve the same amount of stretch as a spring with a lower constant. Therefore, the spring constant is a crucial factor in determining a spring's resistance to deformation. Understanding this relationship is essential for applications involving springs in mechanics.
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What does the spring constant mean for the overall "stiffness" of a spring? Does a larger spring constant mean the spring would be more difficult to compress or stretch? I know that Hooke's law states that F=-kx, and that the units of k are in N/m, I just want to know what the spring constant means.
 
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critter said:
Does a larger spring constant mean the spring would be more difficult to compress or stretch?
Yes. Hooke's law tells you that one spring with twice the spring constant of another will take twice the force to get the same amount of stretch.
 

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