What is Oscillating: Definition and 330 Discussions

Oscillation is the repetitive variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. The term vibration is precisely used to describe mechanical oscillation. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum and alternating current.
Oscillations occur not only in mechanical systems but also in dynamic systems in virtually every area of science: for example the beating of the human heart (for circulation), business cycles in economics, predator–prey population cycles in ecology, geothermal geysers in geology, vibration of strings in guitar and other string instruments, periodic firing of nerve cells in the brain, and the periodic swelling of Cepheid variable stars in astronomy.

View More On Wikipedia.org
Recent contents Top users
  1. A

    Oscillating bucket, variable mass

    Homework Statement A 2kg bucket containing 10kg of water is hanging from a vertical ideal spring of force constant 125N/m and oscillating up and down with amplitude 3cm. Suddenly the bucket springs a leak in the bottom such that water drops out of the bucket at a steady rate of 2g/s...
  2. Roodles01

    Amplitude of oscillating magnetic field

    N = 1/2 E0 √(ε/μ) so E0 = √2*N*(ε/μ) where the value of ε/μ is 376.7Ω I have a similar question to this, below, regarding amplitude of an oscillating magnetic field. Yes, I'd like the answer, but am initially stuck deciding whether the mW is milli- or mega- Homework Equations A laser...
  3. V

    Physics problem : Oscillating circuit

    Homework Statement In an oscillating circuit, the capacitance is 2 microfarads and the maximum voltage at the clamps is 5V. Find out 1:the maximum energy of the magnetic field. 2:energy of the mag field when the voltage of the capacitor is 3V. Homework Equations The Attempt at...
  4. S

    Determining speed of an oscillating object

    Homework Statement (Forgive me if I use certain terms wrong; I'm learning all of this in French) A branch at the top of a tree is swinging back and forth with a simple harmonic motion. Its amplitude is 0.80m. Its maximum speed at the point of equilibrium is 1.5m/s. What is the speed of the...
  5. C

    Does an oscillating charge of any frequency produce em radiation?

    I understand that em radiation (light) will be produced if you cause a charge to oscillate. Does this happen at all frequencies? If I charged a comb by running it through my hair and then shake it up and down, am I sending out light waves?
  6. C

    Potential Energy of Oscillating surface

    Homework Statement A rectangular sheet of thin material is rolled into a portion of a circular cylindrical surface of radius r. It rests under the action of gravity on a fixed cylindrical surface of radius R, symmetrical about the vertical centre line as shown below. If rolled slightly to...
  7. P

    Oscillating pressure regulation system

    Hi all, I'm after a water system involving some sort of pressure valve (pressure regulator, relief valve etc - whichever gets the job done) where the inlet pressure is always OVER set-pressure, and the valve oscillates (opens and closes rapidly) in response. It is this oscillation that is...
  8. S

    Charge oscillating on a spring

    Homework Statement (a) Consider an oscillating electric dipole of moment p(t)=p0sinωt. At large distances r>>c/ω from the dipole, the magnetic potential in the Lorenz gauge is A(r,t) = \frac{\omega \cos\omega(t-r/c))\bf{p_0}}{4\pi r c} Calculate the E and B fields, and deduce the...
  9. O

    String Theory & Particle-Wave Duality: Can Oscillating Strings Explain?

    I'm not sure if this question is something that has been asked before or if i thought about it myself or if it's completely ridiculous! But I was thinking, if, according to String Theory, particles are 1-dimensional strings that go through modes of oscillation, could they describe how a...
  10. S

    Bizarre Oscillating Circles Above US

    Greetings to all! I bring you all very strange and very peculiar tidings! I'll jump right into it: Over the course of the last two days, a small group of friends have been examining what appears to be a collection of magnetic disturbances over the south-eastern region of the United States...
  11. J

    Oscillating in Simple Harmonic Motion?

    Homework Statement A 200-g object is oscillating in simple harmonic monition with an amplitude of 2 cm and a period of 0.4 seconds. Find the velocity when its displacement from the equilibrium position is 0.5 cm. Homework Equations Restoring Force = -(constant force)(displacement)...
  12. T

    Rolling Sphere Oscillating on Spring

    Homework Statement Two uniform solid spheres, each with mass 0.862 and radius 8.00×10−2 , are connected by a short, light rod that is along a diameter of each sphere and are at rest on a horizontal tabletop. A spring with force constant 164 has one end attached to the wall and the other end...
  13. B

    Oscillating velocities, and energy

    Homework Statement A 0.40- kg mass at the end of a spring oscillates 2.9 times per second with an amplitude of 0.20m. a)Determine the magnitude of the velocity when it passes the equilibrium point. b)Determine the magnitude of the velocity when it is 0.10 from equilibrium. c)Determine the...
  14. A

    Medical Are Strong Oscillating Magnetic Fields Safe?

    Hi, I am doing some research into magnetic fields and I have a question. Are strong oscillating magnetic fields safe for human bodies? I am referring to the type of magnetic field in a speaker just a lot bigger. If you have any info that would be great.
  15. H

    Maxwell’s equations for oscillating electric dipole

    Homework Statement How do I show that our equations for the E- and B-fields for the oscillating electric dipole do NOT satisfy Maxwell’s equations? Homework Equations After approximations in retarded potentials, we have our E- and B-field as following: E =...
  16. H

    Maxwell’s equations for oscillating electric dipole

    How do I show that our equations for the E- and B-fields for the oscillating electric dipole do NOT satisfy Maxwell’s equations? After approximations in retarded potentials, we have our E- and B-field as following: E = -ω2μ_{0}p_{0}(4∏r)-1sin(θ)cos[ω(t-\frac{r}{c})]\hat{θ} (Griffiths...
  17. 9

    Two oscillating masses on springs in one dimension

    I can't make this question work, so I'm hoping that someone here will be able to help guide me towards a solution. I began with F=ma, and wrote down the equations of motion for each of the masses. a) 2mx..1 = -kx1 -k(x1 -x2) and b) mx..2 = -kx2 +k(x1 -x2)Then I added b to a, and subtracted...
  18. L

    Lagrangian problem: Ball oscillating in spherical bowl

    Homework Statement Consider a solid sphere of radius r to be placed at the bottom of a spherical bowl radius R, after the ball is given a push it oscillates about the bottom. By using the Lagrangian approach find the period of oscillation.Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution Ok so this...
  19. A

    Observing Oscillating Charges: Effects on Energy

    Hi all let suppose a charge is in oscillating (e.g antenna),it broadcast wave,and also suppose an observer oscillate , so the observer had saw the charge in fixed distance so we have not magnetic field. what we could say about the energy that the observer recived?
  20. O

    Classical Mechanics: Lagrangian for pendulum with oscillating support

    Homework Statement Greetings! This is an example problem at the end of Chapter 1 in Mechanics (Landau): A simple pendulum of mass m whose point of support oscillates horizontally in the plane of motion of the pendulum according to the law x=acos(\gamma t) . Find the Lagrangian...
  21. A

    Wave funtions for a massive particle moving in 1D harmonic oscillating potential

    If a particle of mass moves in a One-Dimensional harmonic oscillating potential, and the particle is in the first excited state, what will it's wave function look like? And the significance of it being in the first excited state versus the ground state? Thanks for the input!
  22. S

    Charged Particle Oscillating in External Constant Electric Field

    Homework Statement A mass m that has net electric charge Q is oscillating along the x-direction on one end of a spring (whose other end is anchored) of relaxed length s0. Suppose that someone then swirches on an electric field E  that is uniform in space, constant in time, and which points...
  23. T

    The period of water oscillating in a U-tube

    In the following lecture (starting at 21:00), the professor says that when predicting the period of water oscillating in a U-shaped tube, that the "length" of the water column that you should use should be greater than the average of the length around the outside and around the inside. Can...
  24. B

    Finding Frequency of an Oscillating Disc with a Hole

    Homework Statement A circular disk with a rectangular hole has a radius of 0.600 m and mass of 0.390 kg. It is suspended by a point on its perimeter as shown in the figure. The moment of inertia about this point is I_p = 2.60E-1 kgm2. Its center of mass is located at a distance of s=0.120 m...
  25. C

    Oscillating, hanging spring-block system

    Homework Statement A hanging spring stretches by 30.0 cm when an object of mass 500 g is hung on it at rest. We define its position as x = 0. The object is pulled down an additional 16.5 cm and released from rest to oscillate without friction. What is its position x at a moment 84.4 s later...
  26. N

    Oscillating mass on a spring - non-constant mass

    Homework Statement A 2.10 kg bucket containing 13.0 kg of water is hanging from a vertical ideal spring of force constant 130 N/m and oscillating up and down with an amplitude of 3.00 cm. Suddenly the bucket springs a leak in the bottom such that water drops out at a steady rate of 2.00 g/s...
  27. B

    Air-Track Cart Oscillating on a Spring, solve for time

    Homework Statement The position of a an air-track cart that is oscillating on a spring is given by (14.0cm)cos[(12.0s-1)t]. At what value t after t=0 is the cart first located at x=2.0 cm? The attempt at a solution y = Acos(wt+∅) y = 14cos(12t) 2 = 14cos(12t) (1/7) = cos(12t)...
  28. R

    Ratio of Periods for Vertically Oscillating Rods of Different Lengths

    Homework Statement Assume all oscillators are frictionless. e) A uniform thin rod (Mass M, length Lo) oscillates vertically on a frictionless axis perpendicular to the rod and passing through one end with period To. Now, a second uniform rod is made of the same material and mounted the same...
  29. W

    Quality factor of driven damped oscillating pendulum

    Homework Statement A small cuckoo clock has a pendulum 25 cm long with a mass of 10 g and a period of 1 s. The clock is powered by a 200 g weight which falls 2 m between the daily windings. The amplitude of the swing is 0.2 rad. What is the Q (quality factor) of the clock? How long would the...
  30. W

    Quality factor of driven damped oscillating pendulum

    Homework Statement A small cuckoo clock has a pendulum 25 cm long with a mass of 10 g and a period of 1 s. The clock is powered by a 200 g weight which falls 2 m between the daily windings. The amplitude of the swing is 0.2 rad. What is the Q (quality factor) of the clock? How long would the...
  31. A

    Shear stress on oscillating wall in viscous incompressible fluid

    Homework Statement A layer of viscous incompressible fluid of thickness H lies on top of a solid wall that oscillates simple harmonically w/ angular frequency Ω. u(wall)=Acos(Ωt). Ignore the motion of air above the fluid layer and find the shear stress at the wall. (Shear stress on free...
  32. V

    What is the period of an oscillating spring with known variables k, m, and g?

    Homework Statement This was a highly simplistic lab we did, and that I have been taking further for my personal enjoyment (I always enjoy deriving things). The lab was if you have a spring hanging from a hook with a spring constant k, place an object of mass m on the spring so it just...
  33. M

    I in: Mechanical Oscillations - Angular freq, Energy of oscillating system

    Dear Collegues, Can you help me to answer theese : Describe the mechanical energy of the oscillating system, with the special interest in the equilibrium and extreme positions. And can u tell me please, that, what is angular frequency in this topic?
  34. B

    Oscillating mechanical systems. find maximum velocity and acceleration ?

    Oscillating mechanical systems. find maximum velocity and acceleration !? A mass of 0.3 kg is suspended from a spring of stiffness 200 N m–1. If the mass is displaced by 10 mm from its equilibrium position and released, for the resulting vibration A) Calculate maximum velocity B) Calculate...
  35. W

    Detecting gradual change in an oscillating data set.

    Hello: I have been trying to find some information on choosing the width of a running average over a time dependent data set. Here is an example of what I am dealing with: The oscillations should be around the line y=15.6385 and I am wondering if there is a way to quantitatively detect...
  36. DocZaius

    Frequency of oscillating electric dipole in uniform field without using diff eq

    Homework Statement Electric dipole makes small angle with uniform electric field. Find the frequency of the oscillation using dipole moment p, moment of inertia I, and field magnitude E. Homework Equations Torque=I*(angular acceleration)=I*(theta)'' Torque=p*E*sin(theta) The...
  37. B

    Oscillating mass in a liquid, SHO

    Homework Statement A body of uniform cross-sectional area A and mass density \rho floats in a liquid of density \rho_0 (where \rho < \rho_0), and at equilibrium displaces a volume V. Making use of Archimedes principle (that the buoyancy force actign on a partially submerged body is equal to...
  38. M

    Is Power Balance a Valid Criterion for Oscillating System Stability?

    Lets consider this definition: If the average power supplied to the system (absorbed power) is less than the average power lost by the system (emitted power) then the system is stable (during the time in which the power was averaged). Is such a definition of stability valid?
  39. M

    Oscillating String - Transverse Speed, what am I doing wrong?

    A string oscillates according to the equation y´ = (0.654 cm) sin[(π/4.0 cm-1)x] cos[(24.2π s-1)t]. What are the (a) amplitude and (b) speed of the two waves (identical except for direction of travel) whose superposition gives this oscillation? (c) What is the distance between nodes? (d) What...
  40. L

    Frequency of an oscillating mass with springs in series

    Homework Statement A block on a frictionless table is connected as shown in the figure to two springs having spring constants k1 and k2. Find an expression for the block's oscillation frequency f in terms of the frequencies f1 and f2 at which it would oscillate if attached to spring 1...
  41. R

    EM Radiation oscillating charged mass

    Homework Statement A particle of mass m and charge q is attached to a spring with force constant k, hanging from the ceiling. Its equilibrium position is a distance h above the floor. It is pulled down a distance d below equilibrium and released, at time t = 0; Under the usual assumptions...
  42. K

    Adhesive Force of an oscillating surface

    Hi An oscillating plate, something like this: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/waves/h4.gif has an adhesive surface. Suppose a particle is stuck to the plate, what is the Adhesive Force on the particle over time [equation] I know that the break-off force is equal to 10N But the adhesive...
  43. S

    Two point sources oscillating in phase- find smallest corresponding path length diff

    Homework Statement Two point sources S1 and S2, oscillating in phase send waves into the air at the same wavelength 1.98m. Given that there is a nodal point where the two waves overlap, find the smallest correspondign path length difference. The only given i can obtain form this is the...
  44. L

    Frequency in oscillating membrane

    I'm about to build a plate reverb and I have some thought, or questions about the plate. The set-up is as follows: A rectangular plate, firmly tensioned in the corners. A forced motion entered. 2 or more pick-ups, piezo style. I'd like to know how the plate, it would be thickness...
  45. F

    Exploring the Oscillating Wave Problem: Finding Solutions for Vibrating Systems

    I would appreciate help on this problem. Homework Statement Homework Equations f = (1/2L)*sqrt(F/u) The Attempt at a Solution This is vibrating at its fundamental frequency so L = (wavelength/2). To find k I reckon I need to find the force on the band and this should equal -kx. But I...
  46. L

    Question about oscillating currents. (the sign of the phase constant)

    Homework Statement This is more of a conceptual problem I'm having with in a problem. I'm trying to find the phase constant of the equation for a capacitor that is charging at time zero. I'm having trouble with figuring out what sign the phase constant should have. Homework Equations...
  47. P

    Harmonics and oscillating atoms

    I have a question which I would like to know the answer to, I posted it before but don't think I was understood correctly, hopefully I can make myself clearer this time. Every physical object in this universe has a natural or resonant frequency from an atom to a planet. Attached is an image of...
  48. S

    Oscillating Charge: How Does it Create Electromagnetic Radiation?

    Hi, In high school physics we are taught that when a charge oscillates it results in electromagnetic radiation. Then we are taught that electromagnetic radiation is a wave with the electric field oscillating in one plane and the magnetic field oscillating in a plane perpendicular to it. So if...
  49. T

    An oscillating rope problem

    Homework Statement A rope, under tension of 120 N and fixed at both ends, oscillates in a second-harmonic standing wave pattern. The displacement of the rope is given by y = (1.18 m)sin ( x / 2) sin (10 t), where x = 0 at one end of the rope, x is in meters, and t is in seconds. (a)...
  50. D

    Help with oscillating spring and energy

    Homework Statement A 0.50-kg block attached to an ideal spring with a spring constant of 80 N/m oscillates on a horizontal frictionless surface. The total mechanical energy is 0.12 J. The greatest speed of the block is: Homework Equations E mech = 1/2kx^2+ 1/2mv^2 The Attempt at...
Back
Top