Chapter 18 - Oscillations

Oscillation

A repetitive back and forth or up and down motion

Natural frequency

The frequency at which a body vibrates when there is no resistive force acting on it.

Sinusoidal

Having a magnitude that varies in the form of a sine curve.

Amplitude

The amplitude of a vibration is the maximum displacement of a particle from its equilibrium position.

Period

The period of an oscillating system or a point in a wave is the time taken to make one complete oscillation.

Phase

The point that an oscillating particle has reached within the complete cycle of an oscillation.

Phase difference

The difference in the phases of two oscillating particles measured in degrees or radians.

Simple harmonic motion (shm)

a body executes simple harmonic motion if its acceleration is directly proportional to its displacement from its equilibrium position, and in the opposite direction to its displacement

Resonance

a term used when a system oscillates with maximum amplitude by absorbing energy from a vibrating source. It occurs when the frequency of the driving force is equal to the natural frequency of the oscillating system.

Damped

a damped oscillation is an oscillation in which resistive forces cause the energy of the system to be transferred to the surroundings as internal energy