up previous
Up: Mass on a Spring Previous: Mass on a Spring

Experiment

The same equations for damped harmonic motion apply for any of the types of damped harmonic motion described above. Here, choose either the mass on a spring or the torsional oscillator.

Open a new simulation and place a mass in it. Select the spring icon and connect the spring to the mass. You can select either the rotational spring or a linear spring. Run the simulation. Measure the position (translational or rotational) of the mass as a function of time. Determine the frequency of the motion by measuring the time for a number of complete oscillations. Compare the measured frequency to the theoretical value.

Now add damping to your simulation by adding a dashpot (also from the spring menu). If you are using the torsional spring, use a torsional dashpot. Choose different values of the damping strength (which you can change numerically through the Properties menu and choosing the constraint corresponding to the dashpot). Measure and graph the position (translational or rotational as appropriate) of the mass for the cases of underdamped, critically damped and overdamped motion.

Comment on your results.