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Re: SPRINGS



Do they measure the non linearity in spring constant, too?

Brian

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but I think the answer must
be "no". They carefully measure the force vs. elongation (static)
and plot it to get a lovely straight line. The "nonlinear"
regimes would be for very small forces (so not all the coils
are "open") and for very large forces (which might deform
the spring). We caution them away from the former and threaten
them with severe punishment for the latter. I suppose there
is some tiny nonlinearity even for intermediate forces, but
we've never tried to make such precise measurements.

Dan