Damped Harmonic Oscillator

Comparison of Model with Data

When computing the error between the graphs of the linear damped oscillator model and actual experimental data, we discover that the graph of the error appears as shown below.

The periodic increase and decrease of the error describes a phenomenon known as beats. The presence of beats indicates that this damped harmonic oscillator model is not sufficient. Instead, we need to use a model which incorporates higher harmonics.

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Previous: Oscillating Cantilevered Beams

Jennifer Powell<jpowell@geom.umn.edu>

Fati Liamidi<liamidi@geom.umn.edu>