Fact of the Day: 17/03/2021

Simple harmonic oscillators are objects that move between two extreme points in a regular, predictable pattern, and whose restoring force is proportional to displacement. To understand what this means, consider a mass on a spring. When no one pulls the mass, it will stay put in a position referred to as the equilibrium position. This is when the spring doesn’t have to exert any force on the mass to move it, because the mass is just resting comfortably. However, if you pull the mass away from that position and then let go, the mass will oscillate between two positions – a position when the spring is most stretched and a position when the spring is most compressed. The stretch or compression of the spring depends on how far back you pull the mass (this is what is meant by ‘displacement’). The restoring force of the mass on the spring is the force that the spring exerts to get the mass back to the equilibrium position. Since this force depends on how far back you pulled the mass to begin with (the restoring force is proportional to the displacement), the mass on a spring is a simple harmonic oscillator.

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