Acoustics: Sound Fields, Transducers and Vibration, 2nd Edition

3.3. Mechanical elements

Mechanical circuit elements need not always be represented by electrical symbols. Because one frequently draws a mechanical circuit directly from inspection of the mechanical device, more obvious forms of mechanical elements are sometimes useful, at least until the student is thoroughly familiar with the analogous circuit. We shall accordingly devise a set of “mechanical” elements to be used as an introduction to the elements of Table 3.1.

In electrical circuits, a voltage measurement is made by attaching the leads from a voltmeter across the two terminals of the element. Voltage is a quantity that we can measure without breaking into the circuit. To measure electric current, however, we must break into the circuit ...