I would like to thank everybody who generously responded to my "spring
constant" question.

The question was related to my work on cantilever-based chemi-mechanical
transducers. Based on the experession for a spring constant I could make
the following conclusion that might be interesting for those who are
working in the same area:

A deflection of a cantilever tip by applying a load directly to the tip
require MUCH less energy than the same magnitude deflection of the tip
of the same cantilever caused by a bending moment due to differential
surface stress on the cantilever sides.


Nickolay Lavrik

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University of Tennessee
Department of Chemistry
420 Buehler Hall
Ph.(865) 974-6174