Question

Why is Hooke's Law negative?

Answer 1

Hooke's Law:

1. Hooke's law is an elasticity law discovered by the English scientist Robert Hooke in 1660.
2. It states that for relatively small deformations of an object, the displacement or size of the deformation is directly proportional to the deforming force or load.

Explanation:

1. Hooke's law, as we know, expresses an object's restoring force when subjected to an external force.
2. Because it acts in the opposite direction as the applied force, the restoring force is considered negative in the calculations.
3. The opposing nature of the object's equal restraining force is represented by the negative value in the expression of Hooke's law.

Thus, the negative value in Hooke's law expression represents the opposing nature of the equal restraining force of the object.