Prof.
I was doing a problem last night while studying and it consisted of a block with a spring and a dampener on the left and a spring connected to a block on the right. The block had a given motion to the right. Given that motion, the spring on the left must be in tension. I thought I remembered that a spring and a dampener on the same side must act in the same direction, but I don't understand how a dampener can act in tension; conceptually I would think a dampener came only act as a force of compression. Thanks.
1 comment:
A dampener works by forcing a fluid through small holes when it is either extended or compressed. When it is being extended, the fluid is being sucked into the reservoir, which provides for the tension force.
If this doesn't make any sense, look up shock absorbers for cars on howstuffworks.com, they give a pretty good explanation of how they work.
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