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Robert Hooke was a huge loser - he never married - and honestly, he didn't do much. But, he did figure out that F=-kx. This is the law of elasticity which means the restoring force of a spring (F) is equal to a spring constant (k) multiplied by the distance (x) that you stretch it. The negative is there because it explains that the restoring force (which is a vector) points in the opposite direction that you pull it in. Someone needs to get up to speed. Bob Hooke assisted Bob Boyle. Boyle wan't all that good at math. Hooke was. Who do you think really wrote up Boyle's Law, hmm? Hooke got noticed by the crew that was hanging out at Oxford, and this core of men - including Hooke - started the Royal Society. They were bleeding edge natural philosophers (what we today call scientists) of the 17th century. Ever use the term "cell" to talk about the basic unit of life in a living thing? The term was coined by Hooke. Hooke is the father of microscopy. Maybe he just got that title out of a Cracker Jacks box, ya think? On point, Hooke was the guy behind Hooke's law of elasticity. And that's what a spring is all about. A spring is elastic. If we apply a force, it is deformed in proportion to the applied force. More force, more deformation. His ideas on this and on related basic concepts in physics underpin the development of the spring scale as a useful tool. A tool that continued to enjoy heavy use up to and through almost all of the 20th century. Only now are we replacing spring scales with electronic ones. That doesn't mean the spring scales aren't good. They really aren't that bad. They're not as accurate as electronic scales, but they're not bad. It's just that technology as caught up with them and passed them. Much of the power of the modern electronic scale (aside from a bit of an increase in accuracy) is its ability to be integrated into computing systems by having been made "smart" through the installation of a little microprocessor. That way the scale can talk to a printer to get a label inked for that package of ground beef you just bought. Or it can talk to the computer at the cash register and tell it the weight of the grapes you just purchased so the computer can price them. Back in the day, Hooke was the man. Why not use the link and see the depth and breadth of his contributions to science as we know it? Wikipedia has the facts, and they're provided free of charge. Help yourself.

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Related Questions

How does a spring scale operate?

A spring scale is simply a spring fixed at one end with a hook to attach an object at the other. It works on the principle of Hookes Law, that states that the force needed to extend the spring is proportional to the distance that the spring extended from it's fixed position.


Who invented the spring weighing scale?

Robert Hooke (1635-1703). The experiments of Robert Hooke showed that the extension of an elastic spring is proportional to the force that is applied to the spring . The spring scale operates on this principle.


How do you use a spring spring scale?

what is a spring spring scale.


A spring scale can be used to measure?

Not really...A spring scale is largely inacurate. For Chemical or Scientific purposes, a spring scale is not the answer.


What is a spring scale for?

A spring scale is used to measure force or mass


Is measured using spring scale?

Weight is measured using a spring scale, which operates on the principle of Hooke's law that the force exerted on the spring is proportional to the displacement of the spring. The spring scale measures weight by the amount of force needed to stretch the spring within the scale.


What does spring scale measures?

A spring scale measures forces, such as weight or tension.


What is the purpose of spring scale?

the spring scale is designed to measure the strength and flexibility of spring it is helpfull in many buisnesses :)


What causes the change in the spring scale reading?

The change in the spring scale reading is caused by the force applied to the spring. When an external force is applied to an object attached to the spring scale, the spring compresses or stretches, leading to a change in the scale reading which reflects the magnitude of that force.


What is a function of a scale?

Function of a spring scale


What is the function of a scale?

Function of a spring scale


What is the difference between a 0-5 N spring scale and a 0-20 N spring scale?

The main difference between a 0-5 N spring scale and a 0-20 N spring scale is the range of forces they can measure. The 0-5 N spring scale measures forces from 0 to 5 Newtons, while the 0-20 N spring scale measures forces from 0 to 20 Newtons. This means that the 0-20 N spring scale can measure a wider range of forces compared to the 0-5 N spring scale.