O S C I L L AT I O N S

SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION:

In oscillations, we observe that the motion is repetitive about a fixed point, with the
object at rest at the extremes of the motion and moving with maximum speed in either
direction at the midpoint.
Amplitude is the maximum displacement from the mean position.
Period is the time taken to complete on oscillation.
Frequency is the complete oscillations per second.
An oscillation that satisfies these conditions is said to have a simple harmonic motion:
The force acting on the oscillating body, and therefore its acceleration, is
proportional to the displacement of the body.
The force, and therefore the acceleration, always acts in a direction towards the
equilibrium position.
F = -k*x
The minus sign means the force is always opposite in direction to displacement.
A = -w2 * x, where w2 is the constant by convention.

SPRING:

A = -w2 * x
Oscillation period is given by: T = 2 * * root(m/k)

SIMPLE PENDULUM:

In case of a single pendulum the force causing oscillation is provided by a component

of the weight. The required force is the horizontal component of weight (the one with
sin).
T = 2 * * root (L/g), where L is the distance from the point of suspension to the center
of gravity.

EQUATIONS OF SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION:

In perfect simple harmonic motion the frequency of the oscillations does not depend on
the amplitude of oscillation. We say the motion is isochronous.
X = A * cos(wt)
The equations for acceleration and velocity are found by differentiating the above
equation.
V = -w * A * sin(wt)
The acceleration is given by the gradient of the velocity-time graph at any instant.
a = -w2 * A * cos(wt)
w=2**f

ENERGY IN SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION:

As a pendulum swings to and fro there is a continuous interchange of kinetic and

potential energy.
Energy of a system of pendulum = 0.5 * m * w 2 * A2

A free oscillation is one in which no external force acts on the oscillating system except,
of course, the force causing the oscillation.
An oscillating system does work against
the external forces acting on it, such as air
resistance, and so uses up some of its
energy. This transfer of energy from the
oscillating system to internal energy of the
surrounding air causes oscillations to slow
down and eventually die away-the
oscillations are damped.
Forced oscillation is felt when the receiver
and source have the same vibrating
frequency.

RESONANCE:

Pendulum X oscillates at its natural frequency.

All other, light pendulums experience forced oscillations, equal in frequency to that of
the driving pendulum.
The pendulums of length nearest to the length of the driving pendulum will absorb
more energy because their natural frequency of vibration is close to that of the driving
pendulum. These pendulums oscillate with larger amplitudes.
A pendulum having the same natural frequency (same length) as the driving pendulum
will absorb by far the most energy and will be forced to oscillate with very large
amplitude. This is called resonance.
For a system with little or no damping, resonance occurs when the applied frequency
equals the natural frequency.
If there is damping, then the resonant frequency at which the amplitude is a maximum
is lower than the natural frequency, and that this difference increases as the degree of
damping increases.
However, the maximum energy transfer, or energy resonance, always occurs at the
natural frequency.
As the amount of damping increases, the resonant peak is much lower and the
resonance curve broadens out.
Damping is important in the design of machines and buildings to prevent unwanted
vibrations, which if they built up to large amplitude through resonance could cause
severe damage.
Various alterations in design are used to tackle the problem. The shape of a lathe is
designed so that its resonant frequency is nowhere near the frequency of rotation of
the lathe, and a car engine is mounted on special dampers to absorb the energy of the
vibrations.
If vibrations occur in a ductile material, the material goes through a hysteresis loop
each vibration. This absorbs the energy and prevents vibrations of large amplitude
building up.