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Harmonic Oscillator
Harmonic oscillators, along with damped and driven oscillators, will be treated in considerable
detail in this chapter not merely because harmonic motion is a good approximation of many physi-
cal processes but also because a thorough understanding of this process aids comprehension of the
other types of oscillations. By Fourier analysis, complicated oscillations often may be regarded as
consisting of a number of simple harmonic oscillations.
Simple harmonic motion (SHM) arises whenever a system vibrates around an equilibrium posi-
tion. It is caused by a force that is directed toward the ...