Originally Posted By: K
Stored energy can just stay there till it leaks away as you suggested. When it does leak away it's not being used to apply the force, it's just wasted as heat.


Surely there is a difference. If the spring is under tension or compression, the molecules re-adjust in response to the "work" being done to maintain that position. without compression or tension, the energy leaks away, more slowly, as a result of natural deterioration of the metal.

There never was nothing.