1

Unit 10: Oscilllations and Waves

10.1 EquationsofSimpleHarmonicMotion
Any motion or event that repeats itself at regular intervals of time is known as oscillation. In some
periodic(oscillatory) motions a body moves back and forth, up and down, side to side, in and out,
etc. around some central position called equilibrium position and along a given path between two
extreme positions. If the external force which has displaced a body from its equilibrium position is
removed, the restoring force developed inside the body will try to return it to its original position.
A restoring force is always directed toward the equilibrium position and therefore opposite the
displacement from equilibrium.
Simple Harmonic Motion (SHM)- is a special type of oscillatory motion caused by a restoring
force which obeys Hooke’s law. In SHM acceleration (a) is always directly proportional in size but
opposite in direction to its displacement (x).
A block, of mass m, attached to one end of a spring, of constant k, and oscillating in a horizontal
frictionless floor (Figure 7.1) is one example of a SHM.

Assuming the net force on the block is the spring force which obeys Hooke’s law:
Fs = −kx
sign shows the force is always acting opposite to the displacement and always tries to restore the
block back to its equilibrium position. Newton’s 2nd law, Fs = ma, applied to the block gives:
k
ma = −kx ⇒ a = − m x
dv d2 x
As required for SHM, a ∝ x but opposite in direction to the displacement. Since a = dt = dt2 ,
d2 x k d2 x k d2 x
dt2 = −m x⇒ dt2 +m x=0 ⇒ dt2 + ω 2 x = 0, where ω 2 = k/m.
All SHMs obey the above differential equation with solution :
x(t) = A sin(ωt + φ) or x(t) = A cos(ωt + φ)
Terms of SHM:
i). Amplitude (A): Maximum distance traveled away from equilibrium position.
ii) Period (T ): The time it takes an object in SHM to complete one cycle of motion.
iii) Frequency (f): Number of cycles per unit of time ⇒ f = 1/T .
• Displacement(x) of SHM varies sinusoidally (Sine or Cosine graphs represent SHM.) with time as:
x = A sin(ωt + φ)
 2

where A is the amplitude, ω is the angular frequency, and φ is the phase constant. Value of
φ depends on the initial position and initial velocity of the oscillator.
Angular frequency ω is related to Frequency (f) as: ω = 2πf .
The angular q
frequency and period of a mass-spring system executing SHM are given as:
k
T = 2π
pm
ω= m ω = 2π k
The period is independent of the amplitude.
Characteristics of SHM:
1. The amplitude A is constant.
2. The frequency and period are independent of the amplitude.
3. The fluctuating quantity can be expressed in terms of sinusoidal function of a single frequency.
For SHM to occur, (i) there must be a stable equilibrium position(ii) there must be no dissipation
of energy(iii) the acceleration is proportional to the displacement and opposite in direction.
Displacement, velocity and acceleration of a SHM
1. Displacement: x = A sin(ωt + φ)
dx
2. Velocity: v = dt = ωA cos(ωt + φ)
dv d dx d2
3. Acceleration: a = dt = dt ( dt ) = dt2 x = −ω 2 A sin(ωt + φ) = −ω 2 x
Maximum velocity occurs at equilibrium position with vmax = ωA
Maximum acceleration is observed at x = ±A : amax = ω 2 A.
SHM equations summary
Quantity Using sine to describe displacement Using cosine to describe displacement
Displacement x = A sin(ωt + φ) x = A cos(ωt + φ)
Velocity v = ωA cos(ωt + φ) v = −ωA sin(ωt + φ)
2 2
Acceleration a = −ω A sin(ωt + φ) = −ω x a = −ω 2 A cos(ωt + φ) = −ω 2 x

10.2EnergyoftheSimpleHarmonicOscillator
In the absence of friction the total energy of a simple harmonic oscillator remains constant and equal
to the sum of its kinetic and potential energies. A mass-spring system in oscillation with no friction
can be taken as one example of a SHM.
The potential energy of this system is
P E = 12 kx2 = 12 k(A sin(ωt + φ))2 = 12 kA2 sin2 (ωt + φ)
The kinetic energy is
KE = 12 mv 2 = 12 m(ωA cos(ωt + φ))2 = 12 mω 2 A2 cos2 (ωt + φ))
Since ω 2 = k/m and cos2 θ + sin2 θ = 1, total mechanical energy, E = KE + P E, is
E = 12 mv 2 + 12 kx2 = 12 kA2 sin2 (ωt + φ) + 12 mω 2 A2 cos2 (ωt + φ))
= 12 kA2 sin2 (ωt + φ) + 12 kA2 cos2 (ωt + φ))
 3

= 12 kA2 (sin2 (ωt + φ) + cos2 (ωt + φ))

= 12 kA2 ........constant.
Energy of SHM is constant and proportional to the square of amplitude.
Velocity as a function of position of a SHM
From the total energy of a SHM
1
2 mv
2
+ 12 kx2 = 12 kA2 ,
if we solve for the
q velocity, we can p
get the following expression
k
√
v = ± m (A − x ) = ± ω 2 (A2 − x2 ) = ±ω A2 − x2
2 2

vmax = ωA, amax = ω 2 A. v = 0 at turning points x = ±A and maximum at the equil. position
x = 0. a is maximum at turning points and zero at equil. position.

10.3 SimplePendulum
The simple pendulum is another mechanical system that exhibits periodic motion. It consists of
a particle-like bob of mass m suspended by a light string of length L that is fixed at the upper end,
as shown in Figure 7.2. The motion occurs in the vertical plane and is driven by the gravitational
force. We shall show that, provided the angle θ is small (less than about 100 ), the motion is very
close to that of a simple harmonic oscillator.
The forces acting on the bob are the force T exerted by the string and the gravitational force mg.
The tangential component mg sin θ of the gravitational force always acts toward θ = 0, opposite
the displacement of the bob from the lowest position. Therefore, the tangential component is a
restoring force, and we can apply Newton’s second law for motion in the tangential direction:
2
Ft = −mg sin θ = m ddt2s

where s is the bob’s position measured along the arc and the negative sign indicates that the tan-
gential force acts toward the equilibrium (vertical) position. Because s = Lθ and L is constant, the
above equation reduces to
d2 θ
dt2 = − Lg sin θ
If we assume that θ is small, we can use the approximation sin θ ≈ θ; thus, in this approximation,
 4

the equation of motion for the simple pendulum becomes

d2 θ d2 θ
dt2 = − Lg θ ⇒ dt2 + g
Lθ =0 (for small values of θ
This has the same form as SHM Equation and we conclude that within the small- angle approxima-
tion, a simple pendulum executes simple harmonic motion with an angular frequency
ω = Lg
p

and a period
q
L
T = 2π g
Period of a simple pendulum does not depend on mass of bob and the amplitude.
In other words, the period and frequency of a simple pendulum depend only on the length
of the string and the acceleration due to gravity.