Oscillations

Abstract

In this chapter we shall be particularly concerned with the one-dimensional motion of a particle which oscillates to and fro about an equilibrium position. When the motion repeats itself after a definite time, it is called periodic. Of all the forces which can produce periodic motion, a restoring force proportional to the displacement of the particle is of particular interest. The resulting equation of motion has many applications in mechanics and indeed in several other branches of mathematical physics.