oscillator

(noun)

A pattern that returns to its original state, in the same orientation and position, after a finite number of generations.

Related Terms

Examples of oscillator in the following topics:

  • Driven Oscillations and Resonance

    • Driven harmonic oscillators are damped oscillators further affected by an externally applied force.
    • If a frictional force (damping) proportional to the velocity is also present, the harmonic oscillator is described as a damped oscillator.
    • Driven harmonic oscillators are damped oscillators further affected by an externally applied force F(t).
    • The time an oscillator needs to adapt to changed external conditions is of the order τ = 1/(ζ0).
    • Describe a driven harmonic oscillator as a type of damped oscillator

  • Forced Vibrations and Resonance

    • In this example, he or she is causing a forced oscillation (or vibration).
    • After driving the ball at its natural frequency, the ball's oscillations increase in amplitude with each oscillation for as long as it is driven.
    • In real life, most oscillators have damping present in the system.
    • These features of driven harmonic oscillators apply to a huge variety of systems.
    • Heavy cross winds drove the bridge into oscillations at its resonant frequency.

  • The Production of Electromagnetic Waves

    • As it travels through space it behaves like a wave, and has an oscillating electric field component and an oscillating magnetic field.
    • These waves oscillate perpendicularly to and in phase with one another.
    • When it accelerates as part of an oscillatory motion, the charged particle creates ripples, or oscillations, in its electric field, and also produces a magnetic field (as predicted by Maxwell's equations).
    • This means that an electric field that oscillates as a function of time will produce a magnetic field, and a magnetic field that changes as a function of time will produce an electric field.
    • Electromagnetic waves are a self-propagating transverse wave of oscillating electric and magnetic fields.

  • Longitudinal Waves

    • Longitudinal waves, sometimes called compression waves, oscillate in the direction of propagation.
    • The difference is that each particle which makes up the medium through which a longitudinal wave propagates oscillates along the axis of propagation.
    • In the example of the Slinky, each coil will oscillate at a point but will not travel the length of the Slinky.
    • Matter in the medium is periodically displaced by a sound wave, and thus oscillates.
    • The wave propagates in the same direction of oscillation.

  • Oscillator Strengths

    • A classical harmonic oscillator driven by electromagnetic radiation has a cross-section to absorb radiation of
    • Except for the degeneracy factors for the two states, the Einstein coefficients will be the same, so we can define an oscillator strength for stimulated emission as well,
    • There are several summation rules that restrict the values of the oscillator strengths,
    • We can also separate the emission from absorption oscillator strengths

  • Energy in a Simple Harmonic Oscillator

    • The total energy in a simple harmonic oscillator is the constant sum of the potential and kinetic energies.
    • In the case of undamped, simple harmonic motion, the energy oscillates back and forth between kinetic and potential, going completely from one to the other as the system oscillates.
    • A known mass is hung from a spring of known spring constant and allowed to oscillate.
    • The time for one oscillation (period) is measured.
    • Explain why the total energy of the harmonic oscillator is constant

  • Waves

    • In nature, oscillations are found everywhere.
    • From the jiggling of atoms to the large oscillations of sea waves, we find examples of vibrations in almost every physical system.
    • They consist, instead, of oscillations or vibrations around almost fixed locations.
    • A wave can be transverse or longitudinal depending on the direction of its oscillation.
    • Longitudinal waves occur when the oscillations are parallel to the direction of propagation.

  • Transverse Waves

    • If a transverse wave is moving in the positive x-direction, its oscillations are in up and down directions that lie in the y–z plane.
    • Transverse waves are waves that are oscillating perpendicularly to the direction of propagation.
    • Here we observe that the wave is moving in t and oscillating in the x-y plane.
    • A wave can be thought as comprising many particles (as seen in the figure) which oscillate up and down.
    • As time passes the oscillations are separated by units of time.

  • Forced motion

    • The forcing function doesn't know anything about the natural frequency of the system and there is no reason why the forced oscillation of the mass will occur at $\omega_0$ .
    • The motion of the mass with no applied force is an example of a free oscillation.
    • Otherwise the oscillations are forced.
    • An important example of a free oscillation is the motion of the entire earth after a great earthquake.
    • Free oscillations are also called transients since for any real system in the absence of a forcing term, the damping will cause the motion to die out.

  • Resonance in RLC Circuits

    • Resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate with greater amplitude at some frequencies—in an RLC series circuit, it occurs at $\nu_0 = \frac{1}{2\pi\sqrt{LC}}$.
    • Resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate with greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others.
    • This is also the natural frequency at which the circuit would oscillate if not driven by the voltage source.
    • Resonance in AC circuits is analogous to mechanical resonance, where resonance is defined as a forced oscillation (in this case, forced by the voltage source) at the natural frequency of the system.
    • The receiver in a radio is an RLC circuit that oscillates best at its $\nu_0$.