Springs are seen everywhere from a mattress to a wrist watch to a car. In short, springs are those pivotal components that play a key role in diverse applications and leave a huge impact in our lives. Do you wish to learn some interesting uses of springs? Well, this post highlights some of the amazing role play of springs that you may not be aware of.
4 Interesting Uses of Springs Discussed
There are many types of springs such as compression springs, torsion springs, and extension springs, etc. These springs influence many applications around us. Given below are interesting usages of springs involving the aforementioned types:
- Mousetraps: Have you ever wondered how the mousetrap works? The answer is torsion springs. When the mousetrap bar is pulled back, the user feels the resist. Why? The torsion spring has mechanical energy stored within them. Mousetrap bar when pulled back is held in its upright position by a spring or hook, which prevents the release of energy. The other end of the spring holding the bar is attached to the bait (food particles), which is used to lure the mouse. When the mice attempts to eat the food, the spring gets dislodged, which causes the bar to move forward and trap the mice.
- Pendulum Clocks: Pendulum clocks are often seen at railway stations, old churches, and museums. What makes these clock work? These clocks use a torsion pendulum as a swinging weight (circular bob), which serves as a crucial time-keeping element. The pendulum is hung from its center of the clock with the help of a wire torsion spring due to which it is referred as torsion pendulum. The weight oscillates along the axis of the clock under the effect of the torsion spring. The spring is twisted and reversed, which causes the oscillation in both clockwise and counterclockwise direction.
- Toasters: Ever wondered what makes toasters pop out the bread after its done! A toaster features a pair of grates for holding the bread. Grates are usually the torsion spring loaded tray, which are pulled up and down upon pressing the lever. The bread is heated by the nichrome wires, which converts electrical current into heat. Once the bread is heated, the lever is released, thereby helping the grate to spring back. This pops the bread out.
- Play zones: Rides and toys present in the play zones can fascinate children of all age groups. Have you ever wondered how do they operate? The answer is compression helical springs and extension springs. One of the best example of the spring driven toy is pogo stick. The pogo sticks are jumping devices used by toddlers and kids in the play zones. These sticks allow the users to position their feet on the bottom pads, with the hands firmly positioned on the bar. When the user jumps onto the pogo stick, the springs get compressed and stores the generated kinetic energy within it. The kinetic energy stored in the spring propels the device back with a sudden release of energy, and the user is bounced upwards.
Springs play a key role in the endless list of applications around us and impact our lives in a huge way. With such a huge reliability on the springs, it is crucial to identify the right type of springs for our application. It won’t be surprising to mention, had springs been not there, many applications would have been rendered useless.