BRAINCAKEEnergy and Simple Harmonic Motion
A freely oscillating object oscillates with contant amplitude as there are no frictional forces acting upon it. The only force acting on it is the restoring force. Consider the transfers of energy of a simple pendulum. At the highest point, the kinetic energy is zero as the velocity is zeroand the gravitational potential energy is a maximum. At the lowest point (equilibrium position) all the gravitational potential energy has been transferred to kinetic energy. As it rises, the kinetic energy is transferred to gravitational potential energy again.
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Key terms in this lesson
- restoring force
- The force acting on an oscillating object that always acts towards the equilibrium position and causes the oscillation.
- gravitational potential
- The work done per unit mass to move a small test mass from infinity to a point in a gravitational field.
More in Simple Harmonic Motion
- Oscillations
- Phase Difference
- Simple Harmonic Motion
- Simple Harmonic Motion
- Mass-Spring System
- A Simple Pendulum
- Damping
- Resonance
All 9 lessons in Simple Harmonic Motion · All OCR A-level Physics topics