Physics
Explainer
Resonance: When Small Pushes Build Huge Swings
Pushing a swing gently at the right rhythm beats pushing hard at random.
Quick check · tap an answer to continue
Lesson notes
Key points
- Real oscillators lose energy to friction, which we model as a damping force proportional to velocity, minus b times v.
- Depending on damping strength, a system is underdamped and rings, critically damped and settles fastest, or overdamped and creeps back.
- Adding a periodic driving force, the steady-state amplitude peaks when the driving frequency is near the natural frequency.
Takeaway: Drive near the natural frequency and lightly damped systems resonate.
Quick check: Which damping returns a system to rest fastest without overshoot?
- Underdamped
- Overdamped
- Critically damped
DampingDamping regimesResonance
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