I Resonance gets sharper just by increasing the resonance freq, why?

AI Thread Summary
The Q factor of an oscillating system, defined as the ratio of resonant frequency to resonance width, indicates the sharpness of the resonance curve. A higher resonant frequency can lead to a sharper resonance curve while maintaining the same resonance width, which raises questions about the constancy of Δω. In the context of a damped harmonic oscillator, Δω is represented by the damping coefficient γ, which does not depend on the resonant frequency. The damping coefficient is crucial as it relates the friction force to the velocity of the oscillator. Understanding the relationship between these factors is essential for analyzing the behavior of oscillating systems.
Aaron121
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The ##Q## factor of an oscillating system is defined as ##\omega_{r}/\Delta \omega##, where ##\omega_{r}## is the resonant frequency, and ##\Delta \omega## the resonance width. As I understand, ##Q## measures how sharp the resonance curve is.

Why is it that the resonance curve gets sharper (higher ##Q##) just by virtue of having a higher resonant frequency, while keeping the same width ##\Delta \omega## ?
 
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Who says ##\Delta \omega## does not change ?
 
@BvU For example, for a damped, driven harmonic oscillator with a natural frequency ##\omega_{0}##, the cutoff frequencies are at ##\sqrt{\omega_{0}^2+\frac{\gamma ^2}{4}}\pm \frac{\gamma}{2}##, where ##\gamma## is the damping coefficient. The equation of motion of the oscillator is given by ##\ddot{x}(t)+\gamma \dot{x}(t)+\omega_{0}^2 x(t)=F(t)/m##, (see page ##10## of this document). ##\Delta \omega##, in this case, is simply ##\gamma##, which doesn't depend on the resonant frequency ##\omega _{r}=\omega _{0}##.
 
You need to look closely at the damping coefficient and see how it is actually defined. I think you will find it refers to number of oscillations to reach 1/e or whatever. The scaling is implicit.
 
##\gamma## is the proportionality factor between the friction force ##\textbf{f}_{r}## and the velocity ##\dot{\textbf{x}}(t)##, i.e., ##\textbf{f}_{r}=-\gamma \dot{\textbf{x}}(t)##. The friction force is a viscous one.
 
Aaron121 said:
##\gamma## is the proportionality factor between the friction force ##\textbf{f}_{r}## and the velocity ##\dot{\textbf{x}}(t)##, i.e., ##\textbf{f}_{r}=-\gamma \dot{\textbf{x}}(t)##. The friction force is a viscous one.
That has the rate of change of x in it - aka proportional to FREQUENCY boom boom.
 
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