Oscillation

An Oscillation is a repetitive variation of some measure around central value.

• AKA: Vibration, Pulsation.
• Context:
  • It is charecterized by a frequency and amplitude.
  • It is usually a periodic function in time, the central value is usually defined as the equilibrium point.
• Example(s):
  • Harmonic Oscillator
  • Pendulum.
  • Alternative Current.
  • Variable Star.
  • Vibrating String.
• Counter-Example(s)
  • Linear Motion.
  • Circular Motion.
  • Damping Function.
• See: Periodic Function, Pendulum, Harmonic Oscillator, Mechanical System, Wave Equation.

---

---

References

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Oscillation Retrieved 2016-07-30
  • Oscillation is the repetitive variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. The term vibration is precisely used to describe mechanical oscillation. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum and alternating current power.

Oscillations occur not only in mechanical systems but also in dynamic systems in virtually every area of science: for example the beating human heart, business cycles in economics, predator–prey population cycles in ecology, geothermal geysers in geology, vibrating strings in musical instruments, periodic firing of nerve cells in the brain, and the periodic swelling of Cepheid variable stars in astronomy.

---