In the worst-case scenario, you've got an elevator with a mass2420 kg moving a speed 4.29 m/s when it reaches the bottom of theshaft. Your first idea is to put a spring, with spring constant1.068×104 N/m, at the bottom of the shaft.
a)Assuming the spring obeys Hooke's Law perfectly, how far willit compress to stop the elevator?
b)When the elevator comes to a stop with the spring compressed,what is the net force on the elevator?
c)It's a bit unreasonable to put a spring large enough tocompresses this far under every elevator. So you decide to add aclamping mechanism to the walls around the spring, which willprovide a friction force of magnitude 1.74×104 N
Now how far does the spring get compressed?
Express your answer with appropriate units.
