Summary
Damping Summary
- Module
- Circular and Harmonic Motion
- Institution
- OCR
This document provides a summary of damping for year 2 of a-level physics.
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DampingAn oscillation is damped when an external force that acts on the oscillator has
the effect of reducing the amplitude of its oscillations.
Air resistance can be an example of damping.
There are many forms and damping. When the damping forces are small, the
amplitude of the oscillator gradually decreases with time but the period of the
oscillations is unchanged. This type of damping is called light damping – this is
the case for the pendulum oscillating in air.
When it comes to larger damping forces, thee amplitude decreases
significantly, and the period of the oscillations also increases slightly. Heavy
damping would happen as a pendulum oscillated in water.
In damped motion, the kinetic energy of the oscillator is transferred to other
forms – usually heat.
If the driving frequency is equal to the natural frequency of an oscillating
object, then the object will resonate; this will cause the amplitude of the
oscillations to increase massively and if this doesn’t get damped, it may break.
Resonance occurs when the driving frequency of a forced oscillation is equal to
the natural frequency of the oscillating object. In the case of a wine glass,
resonance occurs when the frequency of the sound produced by thee singer is
equal to the natural frequency of the wine glass
For a forced oscillator with negligible damping at resonance:
Driving frequency = natural frequency of the forced oscillator
When an object resonates, the amplitude of the oscillation increases
considerably. If the system is not damped, the amplitude will increase to the
people at which the object fails – the glass breaks or the bridge collapses. The
greatest possible transfer of energy from the driver to the forced oscillator is
maximum.
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