What happens to the restoring force of a spring when it is compressed further?

The restoring force of a spring is governed by Hooke's Law, which states that the force exerted by a spring is directly proportional to the displacement from its equilibrium position and acts in the opposite direction. Mathematically, this is expressed as ( F = -kx ), where ( F ) is the restoring force, ( k ) is the spring constant, and ( x ) is the displacement from equilibrium.

When a spring is compressed further, the displacement ( x ) increases. Because the restoring force is proportional to this displacement, an increase in compression results in an increase in the restoring force. Thus, as the spring gets compressed more, the force opposing that compression becomes stronger, leading to an increase in the restoring force.

This principle is the basis for the behavior of springs and is fundamental to understanding elasticity in materials.