Glossary · term
Simple harmonic motion
Mechanics
- Aliases
- SHM, harmonic oscillator, simple harmonic
- Domain
- Mechanics
Definition
The sinusoidal motion of anything pulled back toward equilibrium in proportion to how far it has strayed — a mass on a spring, a pendulum at small angles, an atom in a lattice. Its period does not depend on the amplitude, which is what makes clocks possible.
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