On Fri, Sep 7, 2012 at 9:39 PM, Harry Veeder <hveeder...@gmail.com> wrote: > 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
On second thought, the box might do the opposite and create potential energy (the stored mechanical energy) because the spring is stiffer when it is cold! harry
