Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In mechanics and physics, simple harmonic motion (sometimes abbreviated as SHM) is a special type of periodic motion an object experiences by means of a restoring force whose magnitude is directly proportional to the distance of the object from an equilibrium position and acts towards the equilibrium position.
The force responsible for restoring original size and shape is called the restoring force. [1] [2] An example is the action of a spring. An idealized spring exerts a force proportional to the amount of deformation of the spring from its equilibrium length, exerted in a direction oppose the deformation.
Due to frictional force, the velocity decreases in proportion to the acting frictional force. While in a simple undriven harmonic oscillator the only force acting on the mass is the restoring force, in a damped harmonic oscillator there is in addition a frictional force which is always in a direction to oppose the motion.
In physics, Hooke's law is an empirical law which states that the force (F) needed to extend or compress a spring by some distance (x) scales linearly with respect to that distance—that is, F s = kx, where k is a constant factor characteristic of the spring (i.e., its stiffness), and x is small compared to the total possible deformation of the spring.
As the absolute value of x increases, so does the restoring force acting on the pendulums weight that pushes it back towards its resting position. In harmonic oscillators, the restoring force is proportional in magnitude (and opposite in direction) to the displacement of x from its natural position x 0.
Simple harmonic motion – motion in which the body oscillates in such a way that the restoring force acting on it is directly proportional to the body's displacement. Mathematically Force is directly proportional to the negative of displacement. Negative sign signifies the restoring nature of the force. (e.g., that of a pendulum).
A pendulum is a body suspended from a fixed support such that it freely swings back and forth under the influence of gravity. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back towards the equilibrium position.
The motion of the circling masses mapped in a coordinate system that is rotating at a constant angular velocity Harmonic oscillation the restoring force is proportional to the distance from the center. The animation on the right provides a clearer view on the oscillation of the angular velocity. There is a close analogy with harmonic oscillation.