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PHYS1002 Physics 1 FUNDAMENTALS Module 3 OSCILLATIONS WAVES Text Physics by Hecht Chapter 10 OSCILLATIONS Damping and Forced Oscillations Resonance Problems Sections: 10.8 Examples: 10.11 CHECKLIST There are usually external forces acting on an oscillator in addition to the restoring force. The motion can be damped so that the oscillations die away. Friction, damping, viscous damping, drag force Underdamped, critically damped, overdamping. An external force can drive the oscillations. An external source can supply energy to the vibrating system so that the system vibrates at the same frequency as the external source. The oscillations can grow in amplitude if the driving frequency approaches the natural frequency of oscillation. This phenomena is known as resonance and the system vibrates at its resonance frequency with large amplitude. Self-excited vibrations can occur – the vibrations are initiated and sustained by an energy source that is not oscillatory. NOTES Damping In real oscillating systems, mechanical energy is lost from the system due to frictional or damping forces acting. The oscillation die away with time and the system comes to rest. When the amplitude of the oscillation decays away very slowly, the system is said to be underdamped. For example, when a tuning fork is set vibrating, the sound of vibrations persists for quite sometime. A car shock absorber uses viscous damping (frictional force proportional to the speed). When a car hits a pothole, the piston is jerked away from its equilibrium position. Because of the large damping, the piston returns to its equilibrium position without sustained oscillations. This prevents the car from bobbing up-and-down for a long time after hitting a bump. A sports car has a rigid suspension and oscillations maybe damped out in less than a cycle. A luxury car often has a soft suspension and there maybe a few cycles of the oscillations before they die out. Y