Abd ul-Rahman Lomax asked: >> >> You could create a much simpler "violation." You slip a rectangular box of >> the right size over the compressed spring, so it can't return to its >> original size. Where did the potential energy go? >
I answered, > It is still present because the box is performing the same compression > task as the weight. Sorry I misunderstood. My answer refers to the situation before the spring is placed in the cold bath. However inside the cold bath the spring would exert less pressure against the ends of the box which would be equivalent to a loss of potential energy. Harry
