Resonance - Key terms



AMPLITUDE:

The maximum displacement of particles from their normal position during a single period of oscillation.

CYCLE:

One full repetition of oscillation.

FREQUENCY:

For a particle experiencing oscillation, frequency is the number of cycles that take place during one second. Frequency is measured in Hertz.

HARMONIC MOTION:

The repeated movement of a particle about a position of equilibrium, or balance.

HERTZ:

A unit for measuring frequency, named after nineteenth-century German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857-1894). Higher frequencies are expressed in terms of kilohertz (kHz; 10 3 or 1,000 cycles per second) or megahertz (MHz; 10 6 or 1 million cycles per second.)

KINETIC ENERGY:

The energy that an object possesses due to its motion, as with a sled when sliding down a hill. This is contrasted with potential energy.

LONGITUDINAL WAVE:

A wave in which the movement of vibration is in the same direction as the wave itself. This is contrasted to a transverse wave.

MAXIMUM DISPLACEMENT:

For an object in oscillation, maximum displacement is the furthest point from stable equilibrium.

OSCILLATION:

A type of harmonic motion, typically periodic, in one or more dimensions.

PERIOD:

The amount of time required for one cycle in oscillating motion.

PERIODIC MOTION:

Motion that is repeated at regular intervals. These intervals are known as periods.

PERIODIC WAVE:

A wave in which a uniform series of crests and troughs follow one after the other in regular succession.

POTENTIAL ENERGY:

The energy that an object possesses due to its position, as, for instance, with a sled at the top of a hill. This is contrasted with kinetic energy.

RESONANCE:

The condition in which force is applied to an object in oscillation at the point of maximum amplitude.

RESONANT FREQUENCY:

A frequency that matches that of an oscillating object.

STABLE EQUILIBRIUM:

A position in which, if an object were disturbed, it would tend to return to its original position. For an object in oscillation, stable equilibrium is in the middle of a cycle, between two points of maximum displacement.

TRANSVERSE WAVE:

A wave in which the vibration or motion is perpendicular to the direction in which the wave is moving. This is contrasted to a longitudinal wave.

WAVE MOTION:

A type of harmonic motion that carries energy from one place to another without actually moving anymatter.

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