Hooke's Law Calculator
Calculate spring force, spring constant or displacement using Hooke's law, force equals spring constant times displacement.
Last reviewed by the Radiatus Cloud team
Calculate spring force using Hooke\u2019s law, F = kx.
Need this done properly for your business?
Radiatus delivers secure cloud, DevOps & compliance engineering.
Apply Hooke's law
Hooke's law describes the behaviour of elastic springs, stating that the force needed to stretch or compress a spring is proportional to the displacement from its natural length. It is written as force equals the spring constant times the displacement. This calculator finds the restoring force from the spring constant and displacement, and also computes the elastic potential energy stored in the spring, which is one half of the spring constant times the displacement squared. A spring with a constant of two hundred newtons per metre stretched five centimetres exerts ten newtons.
The spring constant measures stiffness: a higher value means a stiffer spring that resists deformation more strongly.
Springs and elasticity
Hooke's law applies to springs, elastic bands and many materials within their elastic limit, the point beyond which they no longer return to their original shape. It underpins the design of scales, suspension systems, and any device that relies on predictable elastic behaviour. The stored elastic potential energy is released when the spring returns to its natural length, which is how spring-powered mechanisms work.
The law holds only within the elastic region; stretch a spring too far and it deforms permanently, so real materials follow Hooke's law only up to a limit. Keep units consistent for a correct result. All calculation happens locally in your browser.
Related tools
- Security Term Translator — Translate complex security jargon into business language.
- Security Myth vs Reality — Fact-check common security myths.
- Breach News Impact — Contextualize major breaches into understandable analogies.
- Config Safety Analyzer — Paste a config snippet to check for obvious safety issues.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Hooke\'s law?
It states that the force a spring exerts is proportional to its displacement from the natural length, written as force equals spring constant times displacement.
What is the spring constant?
It measures the stiffness of a spring in newtons per metre. A higher constant means a stiffer spring that needs more force to deform.
How is elastic potential energy found?
It equals one half of the spring constant times the displacement squared, representing the energy stored in the stretched or compressed spring.
Does Hooke\'s law always hold?
Only within the elastic limit. Beyond that point a spring deforms permanently and no longer follows the proportional relationship.
What is the minus sign sometimes seen?
The restoring force opposes the displacement, so the law is often written with a negative sign. This tool reports the force magnitude.
Privacy & Security
Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How to Use
Enter the spring constant and displacement to find the force.
Disclaimer: This tool is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Results are for educational and utility purposes.