Abstract
A ($3+1$)-dimensional asymptotically flat Kerr black hole angular speed ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{+}$ can be used to define an effective spring constant, $k=m{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{+}^{2}$. Its maximum value is the Schwarzschild surface gravity, $k=\ensuremath{\kappa}$, which rapidly weakens as the black hole spins down and the temperature increases. The Hawking temperature is expressed in terms of the spring constant: $2\ensuremath{\pi}T=\ensuremath{\kappa}\ensuremath{-}k$. Hooke's law, in the extremal limit, provides the force $F=1/4$, which is consistent with the conjecture of maximum force in general relativity.