Chapter Thirteen: Oscillations

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to oscillations as discussed in Chapter Thirteen of the lecture notes.

Oscillatory Motion

Motion that repeats itself in a to-and-fro manner about a mean position.

Periodic Motion

Motion that repeats itself at regular intervals of time.

Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)

The simplest form of oscillatory motion, where the restoring force is directly proportional to the displacement from the mean position.

Amplitude (A)

The maximum displacement from the equilibrium position in simple harmonic motion.

Period (T)

The smallest interval of time after which the motion is repeated.

Frequency (ν)

The number of repetitions of periodic motion per unit time, given by ν = 1/T.

Restoring Force

The force acting on an oscillating body that draws it back towards the equilibrium position.

Damping

The decrease in amplitude of oscillation due to energy loss, typically caused by friction.

Phase Constant (φ)

A constant that represents the initial angle of the oscillation at t=0.

Angular Frequency (ω)

The rate of change of the phase of a sinusoidal waveform, related to the period and frequency by ω = 2π/T.

Displacement

The change in position of an oscillating body, which can vary with time in a periodic manner.

Restoring Torque

The torque that acts to bring an oscillating object back to its mean position.

Energy in SHM

The total mechanical energy in simple harmonic motion is constant and is the sum of kinetic and potential energy.

Simple Pendulum

A mass (bob) attached to a string swinging back and forth under the force of gravity, exhibiting simple harmonic motion for small angles.

Hertz (Hz)

The unit of frequency, defined as one oscillation per second.

Equilibrium Position

The position of a system where no net forces act on it; the system is at rest.

Coupled Oscillators

A system of multiple oscillators that influence each other's motion.

Wave Motion

The propagation of disturbances through a medium, which can occur due to oscillatory motion.

Fourier's Theorem

States that any periodic function can be expressed as a sum of sine and cosine functions.