| Lectures on Physics has been derived from Benjamin Crowell's Light and Matter series of free introductory textbooks on physics. See the editorial for more information.... |
|
Home  Vibration and Waves Resonance Summary |
||
 Search the VIAS Library | Index
|
  |
|
|
Summary - Energy in Vibrations | ||
| The energy of a vibration is always proportional to the square of the amplitude, assuming the amplitude is
small. Energy is lost from a vibrating system for various reasons such as the conversion to heat via friction or
the emission of sound. This effect, called damping, will cause the vibrations to decay exponentially unless
energy is pumped into the system to replace the loss. A driving force that pumps energy into the system may
drive the system at its own natural frequency or at some other frequency. When a vibrating system is driven
by an external force, we are usually interested in its steady-state behavior, i.e. its behavior after it has had
time to settle into a steady response to a driving force. In the steady state, the same amount of energy is
pumped into the system during each cycle as is lost to damping during the same period.
The following are four important facts about a vibrating system being driven by an external force: (1) The steady-state response to a sinusoidal driving force occurs at the frequency of the force, not at the system's own natural frequency of vibration. (2) A vibrating system resonates at its own natural frequency. That is, the amplitude of the steady-state response is greatest in proportion to the amount of driving force when the driving force matches the natural frequency of vibration. (3) When a system is driven at resonance, the steady-state vibrations have an amplitude that is proportional to Q. (4) The FWHM of a resonance is related to its Q and its resonant frequency fres by the equation
(This equation is only a good approximation when Q is large.) |
||
Vibration and Waves Resonance Summary
