Oscilations
Pendula
A pendulum consists of an arm of low mass with a bob, which has a higher mass, on the end. The top of the arm is pivoted so that the pendulum can swing. A pendulum will continue to swing back and forth indefinately, until it is stopped by air friction and friction within the pivot. When the angle, á, between the stationary line of the pendulum (the line towards which the movement tends) and the line of maximum amplitude of the pendulum is quite small, then the time period of the pendulum can be found according to the following equation:
, where l is the length of the arm of the pendulum (between the pivot and the centre of mass of the bob) and g is the acceleration due to gravity (on earth ñln9.81). For the spring, a similar equation can be derived. For any spring, , where m is the mass of the bob on the spring and k is hookes constant. Hookes constant is the constant of proportionality of force against extension
for any spring, and varies from......
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