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The motion is periodic, repeating itself in a sinusoidal fashion with constant amplitude A. In addition to its amplitude, the motion of a simple harmonic oscillator is characterized by its period = /, the time for a single oscillation or its frequency = /, the number of cycles per unit time.
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.
Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum and alternating current. Oscillations can be used in physics to approximate complex interactions, such ...
In physics and mathematics, the phase (symbol φ or ϕ) of a wave or other periodic function of some real variable (such as time) is an angle-like quantity representing the fraction of the cycle covered up to .
A sine wave, sinusoidal wave, or sinusoid (symbol: ∿) is a periodic wave whose waveform (shape) is the trigonometric sine function. In mechanics , as a linear motion over time, this is simple harmonic motion ; as rotation , it corresponds to uniform circular motion .
Periodic motion is motion in which the position(s) of the system are expressible as periodic functions, all with the same period. For a function on the real numbers or on the integers , that means that the entire graph can be formed from copies of one particular portion, repeated at regular intervals.
The period (symbol T) is the interval of time between events, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency: T = 1/f. [ 2 ] Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio signals ( sound ), radio waves , and light .
Natural frequency, measured in terms of eigenfrequency, is the rate at which an oscillatory system tends to oscillate in the absence of disturbance. A foundational example pertains to simple harmonic oscillators, such as an idealized spring with no energy loss wherein the system exhibits constant-amplitude oscillations with a constant frequency.