A spring that is pulled so that its length increases will develop a tension

force inside the spring that will tend to bring the length back to its
original value. Similarly, if it is compressed a tension force will again try to
restore the length of the spring, Figure 2.28. Experiments show that for a
range of extensions of the spring, the tension force is proportional to the
extension, T = kx, where k is known as the spring constant. This relation
between tension and extension is known as Hooke’s law.