File:Simple_Harmonic_Motion_Orbit.gif · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
simple harmonic motion
Sign in to saveAlso known as free oscillation, SHM, simple oscillation
to and fro periodic motion in science and engineering
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Simple harmonic motion shown both in real space and phase space. The orbit is periodic. (Here the velocity and position axes have been reversed from the standard convention to align the two diagrams)
In mechanics and physics, simple harmonic motion (sometimes abbreviated as SHM) is a special type of periodic motion an object experiences by means of a restoring force whose magnitude is directly proportional to the distance of the object from an equilibrium position and acts towards the equilibrium position. It results in an oscillation that is described by a sinusoid which continues indefinitely (if uninhibited by friction or any other dissipation of energy).