A particle is attached to a spring and is pushed so that thespring is compressed

Question

A particle is attached to a spring and is pushed so that thespring is compressed more and more. As a result, the spring exertsa greater and greater force on the particle. Similarly, a chargedparticle experiences a greater and greater force when pushed closerand closer to another particle that is fixed in position and has acharge of the same polarity. In spite of the similarity, thecharged particle will not exhibit simple harmonic motion upon beingreleased, as will the particle on the spring.
Explain why not. A particle is attached to a spring and is pushed so that thespring is compressed more and more. As a result, the spring exertsa greater and greater force on the particle. Similarly, a chargedparticle experiences a greater and greater force when pushed closerand closer to another particle that is fixed in position and has acharge of the same polarity. In spite of the similarity, thecharged particle will not exhibit simple harmonic motion upon beingreleased, as will the particle on the spring.
Explain why not.

Explanation / Answer

First thing that needs to be recognized is that spring forceis directly proportional to the distance that a spring iscompressed or stretched. Electromagnetic force is inversly proportional to thesquare of the distance between the twoparticles. So while it seems like compressing 2 charges is the same as aspring it will become more and more obvios that the forces behavedifferently as the compression gets greater and greater. Next The chargedparticle doesn't rock back and forth because two particles ofthe same charge will only repel each other. A spring wants to return toit's natural length so if it is compressed it will shootout beyond it's normal length causing it to recompress thisprocess will continue until all potential energy is released in theform of low-frequency sound and heat. I hope my explanation helps if you have any questions feelfree to message me.

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