Give an example of another system that displays oscillations and explain
under what conditions the oscillations could be modelled as simple harmonic
motion.
Poulomi Ganguly
The angle of swing is small (less than about 15 degrees), so we can use the approximation that sin(θ) ≈ θ. This makes the restoring force directly proportional to displacement, which is a key condition for simple harmonic motion (SHM). There is very little air resistance or friction, so no energy is lost during motion (this is called an undamped system). The string is light and doesn’t stretch, and the bob is treated like a point mass.
One example of a system that displays oscillations is a simple pendulum—a small mass (called the bob) hanging from a string and swinging back and forth.
This pendulum can be modeled as a simple harmonic oscillator only when certain conditions are met:
Under these conditions, the motion of the pendulum is periodic, predictable, and follows the same type of equations as SHM.
So, while a simple pendulum is not always perfectly simple harmonic, it behaves like one under ideal conditions—small angles, no friction, and ideal components.
0 votes
0 thanks
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Physical Sciences
- Waves
More Jerry Osei Memsah's questions See All
Similar questions and discussions