Lectures on

Oscillations and Waves

By
D. D. Pant
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
BITS Pilani
Chamber No. 3258
Email Id ddpant@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in
Mobile No. 09950425605
Text Book:
Vibrations and Waves
by
A. P. French
Reference Book:
Waves and Oscillations
by
N. K. Bajaj
Oscillations and Waves
Why study oscillations and waves?
– Almost all physical situations involve periodic or
oscillatory behavior
• Motion of the planets
• Stable mechanical systems
• Electrical systems
• Fundamental forces

– Periodic motion in continuous media

• Wave propagation
• Electromagnetic radiation (light/optics)
• Matter particles are “waves”.
The world is full of oscillatory motions
-A child on a swing
-A guitar string being played
-Swinging pendulum of wall clock
-Atoms in molecules or in solid lattice
-Air molecules as a sound wave passes by
-Radio waves, microwaves and visible light are
oscillating magnetic and electric field vectors
Early Studies of Oscillations

Robert Hooke Christian Huygens Isaac Newton

(1635-1703) (1623-1697) (1642-1727)
Periodic motion:- Any motion that
repeats itself in equal intervals of
time.
Oscillatory motion:- If a particle
moves back and forth over the
same path.
Harmonic motion:- Oscillatory
motions which can be expressed in
terms of sine and cosine functions.
 Simple Harmonic Oscillators
A simple pendulum

A mass fixed to a wall via a spring

A frictionless U tube containing liquid

A hydrometer floating in a liquid

An inductor connected across a

 
capacitor carrying a charge q
 Simple Harmonic Motion
The idealized SHO is a spring-mass system

F = -kx
Equation of motion :

d2x O x
m 2   kx (The equilibrium
dt position)
Or,

d2x  2 k
x0
2
  
 m
2
dt
 Floating objects
Example I : The up-down motion of a partially
immersed solid

Equilibrium Position Pushed down by x

F  Additional Buoyancy Force  Axg

 Equation of motion of the body is :

d 2x
m 2   Ag x
dt
Ag
Simple Harmonic motion with 
m
Example II : Oscillation of water column in
a U-tube
 y
y

M : Total mass of liquid

L : Total length of the water column
M 2 1
U( y)  g y KE  M y 2
L 2
 1 M 2
E  M y 
2
gy
2 L
Energy conservation :
dE
0
dt
M
 M y y  2 g y y  0
L
2g
 y  y0
L

SHM of frequency :  
2g
L
Example III
Prob. 6.17 ( K & K):
A rod of length l and mass m, pivoted at one end, is
held by a spring at its midpoint and a spring at its
far end, both pulling in opposite directions. The
springs have spring constant k, and at equilibrium
their pull is perpendicular to the rod. Find the
frequency of small oscillations about the
equilibrium position.

15k 3 g
 
4m 2l
 ..
Solution of SHM equation x  x  0 2

The two independent solutions are :

cos t & sin t
The most general solution of SHM equation is :

x (t )  A cos(t )  B sin(t )
(A & B are arbitrary constants)
Any arbitrary initial condition on position and
velocity can be accommodated within the solution
of above kind, with appropriate values of A & B

Example :
Suppose the initial (t = 0) position and initial
velocity are x 0 & v 0 respectively. Obtain the
solution.

x 0  A ; v0  B
v0
 x ( t )  x 0 cos t  sin t

 Another form for the solution

Given a pair of arbitrary constants A & B , one

can express them in terms of another pair of
arbitrary constants C &  as :

A  C cos  ; B   C sin 
Then,
x(t )  C cos  cos t  C sin  sin t  C cos(t   )

In the form : x(t )  C cos(t   ),

C : Amplitude of oscillation ;  : Phase Angle

The solution of a linear differential equation with
constant coefficient is an exponential function :

x(t )  C e pt

2
d x
Substituting this into the eq. 2
 x0
2

dt
We get p   j
So the most general complex solution is :

x(t )  C1 e j  t  C2 e j  t C1 & C2 are complex

 C e j ( t   )  C e  j ( t   )  2C Cos(t   )
 A Cos(t   )
 A e j ( t   )
The complex solution :
z  A e j ( t   )

A
t  

is thus, a rotating vector of fixed length A ,

rotating counter-clockwise, with an angular
velocity 
The SHM is the projection of the vector on the x-
axis.
z  A e j ( t   )
y  A sin( t   )

x  A cos( t  )
SHM as projection of uniform circular motion.
z  A e j ( t   )

( t   )
x

-A A

x  A cos(t   )
 Prob. 3.19
y
x
Mass m connected to two
springs on frictionless
(k) (k)
horizontal table. Spring
constant k and unstretched  
lengths of springs  0

a) Eq. of motion along x

d2x
m 2   2k x
dt
F = - 2kx
2k
x 
m
 b) Eq. of motion along y : y  


1/ 2  
y 
2
 y 2
   1  2    1  2  y
    2 
 
y2
     0  (   0 )   (   0 )
2
  0 
Fy   2 k y
  
d2y   0 
m 2   2k y
dt   
2k     0 
1/ 2

y   
m  
 c) Ratio of periods along x & y
1/ 2
x    Ty
   
y     0  Tx
d) x & y as functions of time if x0  y0  A0 and mass
starts from rest
y
A0 , A0 
x(t )  A0 cos xt
x
y(t )  A0 cos  y t

at t = 0
Damped Simple Harmonic Motion
In addition to the restoring force, there is a
damping force, always opposing the motion
of the oscillator
1. Pendulum with air drag

2. U-tube with viscous liquid

The damping force is usually proportional to

the velocity of the oscillator :
dx
Fdamp   bv   b
dt
Damped Simple Harmonic Motion
Equation of motion :
d2x dx
m 2  k x  b
dt dt
Or, d2x dx
2
   0 x  0
2

dt dt

b
where   has dimension of frequency
m
k
and 0  is angular frequency when damping is absent
m
It is called undamped frequency or natural frequency
To solve this equation, we try a solution of the form
x(t )  C e pt

Substituting in the equation, we get

p  p 0
2 2
0

  2
 p   0
2

2 4
   2 2
  0  t
 2 4 
x(t )  C e
 2 2
Square root term   0  can be positive, zero or negative
 4 

Each value of this term describes particular

type of motion
Case 1: Heavily Damped or Over Damped
Motion  2
 02 or square root term is +ve
4
Or damping force > restoring force
For example Pendulum inside thick syrup

 2
Let us write   q2
0
4
Most general solution is

x(t)  e
- t
2
C e
1
qt
 C2e  qt

Real exponential functions means
Non Oscillatory Motion
i) Initial conditions :Pendulum released from rest
i.e. x(0)  x0 ; x (0)  0


x(t ) 
x0
4q
e
 t
2
  2q e qt
   2q  e  qt 
x(t)

t
ii) With the initial conditions :
x(0)  0 ; x (0)  v 0

x(t ) 
v0
2q
e
 t
2
e qt
 e q t 
x(t)

t
 Case 2: Critical Damping

square root term is zero i.e. q = 0

2
i.e.  02
4
This is the limiting case of behaviour of case 1
as q changes from +ve to –ve value.

The most general solution is


 t
x( t )  (A  B t ) e 2
i) With the initial conditions :

x(0)  x 0 ; x (0)  0


    t
x ( t )  x 0 1  t  e 2

 2 

x(t)

t
ii) With the initial conditions :

x(0)  0 ; x (0)  v 0


 t
x( t )  v 0 t e 2

x(t)

t
 Applications of Critical Damping Mechanism
In many systems, quick damping is desirable
to bring the system to a quick stop.
i) Needle in meters such as ammeter,
voltmeter etc.
ii) Door closers :

Out of the two non-oscillatory damping – over

damping and critical damping – it is the latter
that brings the system back to equilibrium
quicker
 x(t) Critical Damping
Over Damping

x cd ( t )
im 0
t  x (t)
od
Case 3: Damped Simple Harmonic Motion
2
 02 or square root term is -ve
4
Or damping force < restoring force

So p is a complex quantity

i.e. p    j
2

 2
Where    
2
0
4
is angular frequency of damped motion
 The most general complex solution :

z (t )  e
 t
2
A e j t
 Be  j t

The most general real solution :

 t
x ( t )  A0 e 2
cos( t  )
A0 and  are obtained from initial condition
This is a SHM with decaying amplitude