Therefore, it'll compress by an unknown x, which is equal to mg divided by the force constant of the spring.

因此它的压缩量为 x,也就等于 mg 除以弹簧的弹性系数

耶鲁公开课 - 基础物理课程节选

It says, if you pull it to the right, so that x is positive, the spring will exert a force which is in the negative direction; that's why you have a minus sign.

就是说,如果你向右拉,x 取正值,弹簧产生的力方向为负,这就是这里用负号的原因

耶鲁公开课 - 基础物理课程节选

We did the comparison with the elephant or something; a is the second derivative of x and for this problem, when F is due to a spring, we know the force is that by studying the spring.

我们也已经把它与大象或其它东西作过比较,a 是 x 的二阶导数,在这个问题中,F 是由弹簧产生的,我们在讨论弹簧问题时已经知道了力的大小

耶鲁公开课 - 基础物理课程节选