Demonstrations

Simple Harmonic Motion - Damped Mass on Spring

Code Number :	3A50.10
Disclaimer:	Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website. The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources. Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA. The University of Iowa Disclaimers: University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..
Condition :	Good
Principle :	Simple Harmonic Motion
Area of Study :	Acoustics
Equipment :	Aluminum rod weight on linear spring, tall glass cylinders, water, shampoo, shampoo and water solutions of different concentrations, Pasco harmonic motion analyzer.
Procedure :	Place the rod in one of the glass cylinders so that it can move up and down freely. Fill the cylinder with water and observe the time for 10 oscillations. Now place the rod in a cylinder that has shampoo in it and again observe the time for 10 oscillations. If desired with the use of the cardboard plate at the top of the rod you may do measurements with the sonic sensors and computer interface. The Pasco harmonic motion analyzer can be used for this demonstration also. Put the desired amount of damping liquid in a cylinder and place it under the oscillator. Do not turn on the analyzer, just pull up or down on the spring and release. The amplitude and the frequency can still be read out on the analyzer.

References

Daniel Hoyt, "More on Damped Oscillators", TPT, Vol. 43, # 4, Apr. 2005, p. 196 - 197.

M. I. Molina, "Authors Response", TPT, Vol. 43, # 4, Apr. 2005, p. 197.

M. I. Molina, "Exponential Versus Linear Amplitude Decay in Damped Oscillators", TPT, Vol. 42, # 8, Nov. 2004, p. 485.

Thomas B. Greenslade, Jr., "Damped Simple Harmonic Motion on a Linear Air Track", TPT, Vol. 42, # 7, Oct. 2004, p. 440.

Michael C. Lopresto and Paul R. Holody, "Measuring the Damping Constant for Underdamped Harmonic Motion," TPT, Vol. 41, # 1, p. 22, (Jan 2003).

Michael C. Lopresto and Paul R. Holody, "Drag Forces, Authors' Response," TPT, Vol. 41, # 5, May 2003, p. 262

A. John Mallinckrodt, "Drag Forces," TPT, Vol. 41, # 5, May 2003, p. 261.

James C. Kernohan, "Another Use for the Sonic Ranger." TPT, Vol. 36, # 2, p. 126, (Feb. 1998).

John A. Varriano, "Energy Diagrams with Drag Forces", TPT, Vol. 34, # 9, Dec. 1996, p. 546.

Clifton Bob Clark and Clifford E. Swartz, "Analytic Solution for the Oscillator with Classical Friction", TPT, Vol. 34, # 9, Dec. 1996, p. 550.

Kevin Campbell and Don Easton, "Bad" Vibes: The Damped Oscillator", TPT, Vol. 30, # 5, May 1992, p. 318.

Wei Lee, "Damped Harmonic Oscillator", TPT, Vol. 30, # 7, Oct. 1992, p. 388.

Michael T. Frank and Edward Kluk, "Equations of Motion on a Computer Spreadsheet: The Damped Harmonic Oscillator and More", TPT, Vol. 28, # 5, May 1990, p. 308.

Thomas D. Rossing, "Frequency Shift in Damped Oscillators", TPT, Vol. 20, # 6, Sept. 1982, p. 354, 428.

W. Herreman, "Author's Reply To Frequency Shift In Damped Oscillators", TPT, Vol. 20, # 6, Sept. 1982, p. 428.

W. Herreman, "Mechanical Resonance On an Air Track", TPT, Vol. 20, # 4, Apr. 1982, p. 257.

Glen Spielbauer, "Damped Oscillator", TPT, Vol. 20, # 3, Mar. 1982, p. 188.

Dennis E. Kelly, "The Electro - Magnetically Damped Mechanical Oscillator", TPT, Vol. 19, # 5, May 1981, p. 327.

Brother James Mahoney, "Good Timing", TPT, Vol. 19, # 7, Oct. 1981, p. 448.

Daniel Green, William G. Unruh, "The Failure of the Tacoma Bridge: A Physical Model", AJP, Vol. 74, # 8, Aug. 2006, p. 706.

Rafael M. Digilov, M. Reiner, and Z. Weizman, "Damping in a Variable Mass on a Spring Pendulum", AJP, Vol. 73, # 10, Oct. 2005, p. 901.

Josue Njock Libii, "Demonstration of Viscous Damping in the Undergraduate Laboratory", AJP, Vol. 68, # 2, p. 195, Feb. 2000.

Mildred Allen, "The Period of Damped Simple Harmonic Motion", AJP, Vol. 40, # 7, July 1972, p. 942.

Chuck Williamson, John Goree, "Experiment 10 - Underdamped Oscillations," Experiments in Mechanics, Wave Motion, and Heat, Univ. of Iowa Lab Manual, Fall 2000.

Mail Questions and Comments to: Dale Stille