Oscillation is the 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 include a swinging pendulum and AC power. The term vibration is sometimes used more narrowly to mean a mechanical oscillation but sometimes is used to be synonymous with "oscillation." Oscillations occur not only in physical systems but also in biological systems and in human society. Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up equilibrium in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Pendulum (disambiguation). ... City lights viewed in a motion blurred exposure. ... Look up vibration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the journal, see Ecology (journal). ... For other uses, see Society (disambiguation). ...

An undamped spring-mass system is an oscillatory system.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... An undamped spring-mass system is a simple harmonic oscillator. ...

Simplicity

The simplest mechanical oscillating system is a mass attached to a linear spring, subject to no other forces; except for the point of equilibrium, this system is equivalent to the same one subject to a constant force such as gravity. Such a system may be approximated on an air table or ice surface. The system is in an equilibrium state when the spring is unstretched. If the system is displaced from the equilibrium, there is a net restoring force on the mass, tending to bring it back to equilibrium. However, in moving the mass back to the equilibrium position, it has acquired momentum which keeps it moving beyond that position, establishing a new restoring force in the opposite sense. The time taken for an oscillation to occur is often referred to as the oscillatory period. For other uses, see Mass (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Linear (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Spring. ... For other uses, see Force (disambiguation). ... Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ... A standard definition of mechanical equilibrium is: A system is in mechanical equilibrium when the sum of the forces, and torque, on each particle of the system is zero. ... This article is about momentum in physics. ...

The specific dynamics of this spring-mass system are described mathematically by the simple harmonic oscillator and the regular periodic motion is known as simple harmonic motion. In the spring-mass system, oscillations occur because, at the static equilibrium displacement, the mass has kinetic energy which is converted into potential energy stored in the spring at the extremes of its path. The spring-mass system illustrates some common features of oscillation, namely the existence of an equilibrium and the presence of a restoring force which grows stronger the further the system deviates from equilibrium. In physics, dynamics is the branch of classical mechanics that is concerned with the effects of forces on the motion of objects. ... In classical mechanics, a Harmonic oscillator is a system which, when displaced from its equilibrium position, experiences a restoring force proportional to the displacement according to Hookes law: where is a positive constant. ... Periodicity is the quality of occurring at regular intervals (e. ... Simple harmonic motion is the motion of a simple harmonic oscillator, a motion that is neither driven nor damped. ... Statics is the branch of physics concerned with physical systems in static equilibrium, that is, in a state where the relative positions of subsystems do not vary over time, or where components and structures are at rest under the action of external forces of equilibrium. ... The cars of a roller coaster reach their maximum kinetic energy when at the bottom of their path. ... Potential energy can be thought of as energy stored within a physical system. ...

The harmonic oscillator offers a model of many more complicated types of oscillation and can be extended by the use of Fourier analysis. In classical mechanics, a Harmonic oscillator is a system which, when displaced from its equilibrium position, experiences a restoring force proportional to the displacement according to Hookes law: where is a positive constant. ... Fourier analysis, named after Joseph Fouriers introduction of the Fourier series, is the decomposition of a function in terms of a sum of sinusoidal basis functions (vs. ...

Damped, driven and self-induced oscillations

In real-world systems, the second law of thermodynamics dictates that there is some continual and inevitable conversion of energy into the thermal energy of the environment. Thus, damped oscillations tend to decay with time unless there is some net source of energy in the system. The simplest description of this decay process can be illustrated by the harmonic oscillator. In addition, an oscillating system may be subject to some external force (often sinusoidal), as when an AC circuit is connected to an outside power source. In this case the oscillation is said to be driven. The second law of thermodynamics is an expression of the universal law of increasing entropy. ... In thermal physics, thermal energy is the energy portion of a system that increases with its temperature. ... In mathematics, the trigonometric functions are functions of an angle, important when studying triangles and modeling periodic phenomena. ... An electronic circuit is an electrical circuit that also contains active electronic devices such as transistors or vacuum tubes. ...

Some systems can be excited by energy transfer from the environment. This transfer typically occurs where systems are embedded in some fluid flow. For example, the phenomenon of flutter in aerodynamics occurs when an arbitrarily small displacement of an aircraft wing (from its equilibrium) results in an increase in the angle of attack of the wing on the air flow and a consequential increase in lift coefficient, leading to a still greater displacement. At sufficiently large displacements, the stiffness of the wing dominates to provide the restoring force that enables an oscillation. A fluid is defined as a substance that continually deforms (flows) under an applied shear stress regardless of the magnitude of the applied stress. ... Flutter: In electronics, rapid variation of signal parameters, such as amplitude, phase, and frequency. ... For the Daft Punk song, see Aerodynamic (song). ... Flying machine redirects here. ... For other uses, see Wing (disambiguation). ... In this diagram, the black arrow represents the direction of the wind. ... Air redirects here. ... The coefficient of lift is a number associated with a particular shape of an aerofoil, and is incorporated in the lift equation to predict the lift force generated by a wing using this particular cross section. ... Stiffness is the resistance of an elastic body to deflection or deformation by an applied force. ...

Coupled oscillations

The harmonic oscillator and the systems it models have a single degree of freedom. More complicated systems have more degrees of freedom, for example two masses and three springs (each mass being attached to fixed points and to each other). In such cases, the behavior of each variable influences that of the others. This leads to a coupling of the oscillations of the individual degrees of freedom. For example, two pendulum clocks mounted on a common wall will tend to synchronise. The apparent motions of the individual oscillations typically appears very complicated but a more economic, computationally simpler and conceptually deeper description is given by resolving the motion into normal modes. Degrees of freedom is a general term used in explaining dependence on parameters, and implying the possibility of counting the number of those parameters. ... For other types of mode, see mode. ...

Continuous systems - waves

As the number of degrees of freedom becomes arbitrarily large, a system approaches continuity; examples include a string or the surface of a body of water. Such systems have (in the classical limit) an infinite number of normal modes and their oscillations occur in the form of waves that can characteristically propagate. Look up continuum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... The classical limit is the ability of a physical theory to approximate or recover classical mechanics when considered over special values of its parameters. ... Infinity is a word carrying a number of different meanings in mathematics, philosophy, theology and everyday life. ... Surface waves in water This article is about waves in the most general scientific sense. ...

Examples

See also: list of wave topics This is a list of wave topics, by Wikipedia page. ...

Mechanical

• Double pendulum
• Foucault pendulum
• Helmholtz resonator
• Playground swing
• String instruments
• Tuning fork
• Vibrating string
• Oscillations in the Sun (helioseismology) and stars (asteroseismology)

An example of a double pendulum. ... Foucaults Pendulum in the Panthéon, Paris. ... A brass, spherical Helmholtz resonator based on his original design, from around 1890-1900. ... A little girl playing on a swing A swing is a hanging seat in a playground, for acrobats in a circus, or on a porch for relaxing. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... A tuning fork is a simple metal two-pronged fork with the tines formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic material (usually steel). ... A vibration in a string is a wave. ... A computer generated image showing the pattern of a p-mode solar acoustic oscillation both in the interior and on the surface of the sun. ... Asteroseismology is the study of the internal structure of pulsating stars by the interpretation of their frequency spectra. ...

Electrical

• Alternating current
• Armstrong oscillator
• Astable multivibrator
• Blocking oscillator
• Clapp oscillator
• Colpitts oscillator
• Electronic oscillator
• Hartley oscillator
• Oscillistor
• Pierce oscillator
• Relaxation oscillator
• RLC circuit
• Royer oscillator
• Vačkář oscillator
• Wien bridge oscillator
• Oscillators and Multivibrators
• Virtual Cathode Oscillator

City lights viewed in a motion blurred exposure. ... The Armstrong Oscillator is named for Edwin Armstrong, its inventor. ... An astable multivibrator is an electronic circuit that has two states, neither one of which is stable. ... Solid-state Blocking Oscillator (using NPN transistor) A blocking oscillator is the minimal configuration of discrete electronic components which can produce a free-running signal, requiring only a capacitor, transformer, and one amplifying component. ... The Clapp oscillator is one of several types of electronic oscillator constructed from a transistor (or vacuum tube) and a positive feedback network. ... A Colpitts oscillator, named after its inventor Edwin H. Colpitts, is one of a number of designs for electronic oscillator circuits. ... Cross coupled LC oscillator with output on top An electronic oscillator is an electronic circuit that produces a repetitive electronic signal, often a sine wave or a square wave. ... Schematic diagram The Hartley oscillator is an LC electronic oscillator that derives its feedback from a tapped coil in parallel with a capacitor (the tank circuit). ... An Oscillistor is a semiconductor device, consisting of a semiconductor specimen placed in magnetic field and a resistor after a power supply. ... The Pierce oscillator is a type of electronic oscillator circuit particularly well-suited for implementing crystal oscillator circuits. ... A relaxation oscillator is an oscillator in which a capacitor is charged gradually and then discharged rapidly. ... An RLC circuit (also known as a resonant circuit or a tuned circuit) is an electrical circuit consisting of a resistor (R), an inductor (L), and a capacitor (C), connected in series or in parallel. ... A Vačkář oscillator is a variation of the split-capacitance oscillator model. ... Classic Wien bridge oscillator A Wien bridge oscillator is a type of electronic oscillator that generates sine waves without having any input source. ...

Electro-mechanical

• Crystal oscillator
• Loudspeaker
• Microphone

A crystal oscillator is an electronic circuit that uses the mechanical resonance of a vibrating crystal of piezoelectric material to create an electrical signal with a very precise frequency. ... For the Marty Friedman album, see Loudspeaker (album) An inexpensive low fidelity 3. ... Microphones redirects here. ...

Optical

• Laser (oscillation of electromagnetic field with frequency of order 10¹⁵Hz)
• Oscillator Toda or self-pulsation (pulsation of output power of laser at frequencies 10⁴Hz -- 10⁶Hz in the transient regime)
• Quantum oscillator may refer to an optical local oscillator, as well as to a usual model in quantum optics.

For other uses, see Laser (disambiguation). ... The electromagnetic field is a physical field that is produced by electrically charged objects and which affects the behaviour of charged objects in the vicinity of the field. ... Oscillator Toda is special kind of nonlinear oscillator; it is vulgarization of the Toda field theory, which rerers to a continuous limit of Todas chain, of chain of particles, with exponential potential of interaction between neibours [1]. The oscillator Toda is used as simple model to understand the phenomenon... Self-pulsation takes place at the beginning of laser action. ... For other uses, see Laser (disambiguation). ... The Superheterodyne receiver (or to give it its full name, The Supersonic Heterodyne Receiver – usually these days shortened to superhet) was invented by Edwin Armstrong in 1918. ... Quantum optics is a field of research in physics, dealing with the application of quantum mechanics to phenomena involving light and its interactions with matter. ...

Biological

• Circadian rhythm
• Prey-predator systems
• Neural oscillations

A circadian rhythm is a roughly-24-hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria. ... The Lotka-Volterra equations, also known as the predator-prey equations, are a pair of first order, non-linear, differential equations frequently used to describe the dynamics of biological systems in which two species interact, one a predator and one its prey. ... The concept of neural oscillations is close to the concept of brain waves. ...

Humain

• Brain waves
• Pilot-induced oscillation
• Voice production

“EEG” redirects here. ... Pilot-induced oscillations (PIO) occur when the pilot of an aircraft inadvertently commands an often increasing series of corrections in opposite directions, each an attempt to correct for the previous overcorrection with an overcorrection in the opposite direction. ... Voice production is the generation of sound in the human speech organs. ...

Economic and social

• Business cycle
• Generation gap
• Malthusian economics
• News cycle

// [edit] Introduction [edit] Definition If we were to take snapshots of an economy at different points in time, no two photos would look alike. ... A generation gap is a popular term used to describe wide differences in cultural norms between members of a younger generation and their elders. ... The Rev. ... The term News cycle refers to the cycle between releases of news media, such as the 24-hour period between newspapers being released. ...

Climate and geophysics

• Chandler wobble
• El Niño-Southern Oscillation
• Quasi-biennial oscillation
• Tides in the Earth's oceans

The Chandler wobble is a small variation in Earths axis of rotation, discovered by American astronomer Seth Carlo Chandler in 1891. ... Chart of ocean surface temperature anomaly [°C] during the last strong El Niño in December 1997 El Niño and La Niña (also written in English as El Nino and La Nina) are major temperature fluctuations in surface waters of the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean. ... The QBO (quasi-biennial oscillation) is a quasi-periodic oscillation of the equatorial zonal wind between easterlies and westerlies in the tropical stratosphere with a mean period of 28 to 29 months. ... This article is about tides in the Earths oceans. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ...

Chemical

• Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction
• Mercury beating heart

A Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, or BZ reaction, is one of a class of reactions that result in the establishment of a nonlinear chemical oscillator. ... In electrochemistry, the mercury beating heart is an effect observed in mercury demonstrating the effect of a non-homogeneous electrical double layer [1]. It is often used as a classroom demonstration. ...

See also

In electrical engineering, specifically signal processing and control theory, BIBO Stability is a form of stability for signals and systems. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... The Lorenz attractor is an example of a non-linear dynamical system. ... For the superhero, see Feedback (Dark Horse Comics). ... In mathematics, a periodic function is a function that repeats its values after some definite period has been added to its independent variable. ... In mathematics, the reciprocal, or multiplicative inverse, of a number x is the number which, when multiplied by x, yields 1. ... For the popular Tamil film, see Rhythm (film). ... Self oscillation is a term usually used when describing a voltage controlled filter of an analog synthesizer. ... A signal generator, also known variously as a test signal generator, tone generator (in audio only), waveform generator, or frequency generator is an electronic instrument that generates repeating electronic signals (in either the analog or digital domains). ... In the study of dynamical systems, an attractor is a set, curve, or space to which a system irreversibly evolves, if left undisturbed. ... In mathematics, structural stability is an aspect of stability theory concerning whether a given function is sensitive to a small perturbation. ... This is a list of named time periods defined in various fields of study. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up vibration in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

External links

• Vibrations - a chapter from an online textbook
• Dealing Vibration at work