SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION--help needed

[summersnow69]

i m doing a presentation on "SIMPLE HARMONIC MOTION and APPLICATION".

BAsically , i have done some research on website and books, but the application are to difficult to understand and its not common in daily life. My audience would be a level students.

 

I will include the spring and pendulum, but any other suggestion for me on the topic?

and i would like to insert some interesting facts.

I will appreciate much on your ideas and suggestions.

[Klaynos]

Large chunks of fundamental quantum mechanics...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_harmonic_oscillator

 

Electronics also use harmonic oscillator theory, although they're driven and normally damped oscillators...

 

The mathematics of SHM is quite nice, so alot of physics will try and model situations using it, and perturbed versions (like damped and driven)...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_oscillator#Equivalent_systems

 

Is a quite nice list.

 

It's actually quite hard to derive the equations of motion, most of the time you'll be told to assume a solution and then show that that solution is correct, as your talk is aimed at a-level students I doubt you'll want to get into the derivation as it involves solving differential equations, although the method I use is elegant imo it's not normally taught until second year undergraduate study...

 

http://blogs.scienceforums.net/anewworld/2008/02/12/the-lagrangian-how-its-used/

 

and

 

http://blogs.scienceforums.net/anewworld/2008/03/21/solving-the-simple-pendulum-question/

[Royston]

One of my early assignments asked, how can I find a value for the acceleration due to gravity using Hookes Law...i.e using SHM (simple harmonic motion) as recorded on an asteroid, compared to the Earth, and working out [math]g_a[/math] for the asteroid. I'll happily go into more detail if you wish.

 

However I assume that your looking for applications that you can demonstrate and record, so a metronome and talking through the math should be ample. I take it your students aren't A-level physics students ?

 

EDIT: Klaynos beat me to it, but you should give an indication of how much detail is required...the equations of damped oscillations are more complicated than SHM.

 

EDIT II: This thread should be in general physics.

Edited July 20, 2008 by Snail