High school physics/Simple Oscillation

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Simple Oscillation


For a simple oscillator consisting of a mass m to one end of a spring with a spring constant s, the restoring force, f, can be expressed by the equation

Force=Springconstantxdisplacement


where displacement is the displacement of the mass from its rest position. Substituting the expression for f into the linear momentum equation,

f=ma=d2xdt2


where a is the acceleration of the mass, we can get

md2xdt2=sx


or,

d2xdt2+smx=0


Note that

ω02=sm


To solve the equation, we can assume

x(t)=Aeλt