Springs are made up of atoms. Those atoms interact with each other as if they are connected by imaginary springs (or so I’ve heard). Here’s the question: what is so special about that helical spring shape that replicates the behavior of atoms on a larger scale?
In: Physics
Atoms don’t really act like they’re connected by springs. Atoms’ connections are not very linear in their force response. That is to say that, beyond pushing against you when you try to move them, atomic bonds don’t actually act much like springs. That said, helical springs do something very cool – they generate a nearly linear force curve. Every inch you stretch a spring increases its force by roughly the same amount. This is because its helical shape allows it to take advantage of something called local linearization. This is to say that for most normal graphs, if you zoom in enough, the line looks straight. When bending a wire, the force it generates compared to how far it bends is a curve. By coiling this wire up so a lot of it bends a little bit even when the end of the coil is moved substantially, you are effectively zooming into this curve enough that it looks linear or ‘straight’. This is cool because it allows for near-harmonic oscillation, which is used for timekeeping.
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