spring

A spring is a mechanical element designed to deform under applied force and recover its original shape when the force is removed, thereby storing and releasing mechanical energy. It is manufactured from elastic materials (most commonly steel alloys, but also polymers, ceramics, and composites) into specific geometries — helical, leaf, torsion, gas, or fluid — each optimized for a particular mode of deformation (compression, extension, torsion, or bending). The persistence mechanism is the material's elastic modulus: when stressed within the elastic limit, atomic bonds stretch elastically, storing potential energy that is returned as mechanical work upon unloading. [formal: springum | substrate: matter | horizon: hours | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]