![]() At the high point of this period of oscillation, the spring will not be as high as it was before it was originally released, but it will be higher than the position of equilibrium. Then, it will spring upward again, and as it moves, its kinetic energy increases, while potential energy decreases. Instead, it will continue downward to a point of maximum tension, where it possesses maximum potential energy as well. It will, of course, fall downward with the force of gravity until it comes to a stop -but it will not stop at the earlier position of equilibrium. Now, consider what happens if the spring is grasped at a certain point and lifted, then let go. At this point, the spring is in a position of equilibrium. Place to a ceiling, such that it hangs downward. Oscillation is a type of harmonic motion, typically periodic, in one or more dimensions. In both, there is a continual conversion and reconversion between potential energy (the energy of an object due to its position, as for instance with a sled at the top of a hill) and kinetic energy (the energy of an object due to its motion, as with the sled when sliding down the hill.) The principal difference between vibration and wave motion is that, in the first instance, the energy remains in place, whereas waves actually transport energy from one place to another. Both wave motion and vibration are periodic, involving the regular repetition of a certain form of movement. One variety of harmonic motion is vibration, which wave motion resembles in some respects. A familiar example of harmonic motion, to anyone who has seen an old movie with a clich éd depiction of a hypnotist, is the back-and-forth movement of the hypnotist's watch, as he tries to control the mind of his patient. In harmonic motion -or, more specifically, simple harmonic motion -the object moves back and forth under the influence of a force directed toward the position of equilibrium, or the place where the object stops if it ceases to be in motion. Harmonic motion is the repeated movement of a particle about a position of equilibrium, or balance. With wave motion, a period is the amount of time required to complete one full cycle of the wave, from trough to crest and back to trough. A period might be the amount of time that it takes an object orbiting another (as, for instance, a satellite going around Earth) to complete one cycle of orbit. Broadest among these is periodic motion, or motion that is repeated at regular intervals called periods. As with wave motion, these varieties of movement may or may not involve matter, but, in any case, the key component is not matter, but energy. ![]() Only the energy is moved.Ī wave is an example of a larger class of regular, repeated, and/or back-and-forth types of motion. In fact, this is not the case: molecules of water in an ocean wave move up and down, but they do not actually travel with the wave itself. In some types of waves, such as those on the ocean, it might seem as though matter itself has been displaced that is, it appears that the water has actually moved from its original position. ![]() In wave motion, energy -the ability to perform work, or to exert force over distance -is transmitted from one place to another without actually moving any matter along the wave. Then, of course, there are waves on the ocean or the waves produced by an object falling into a pool of still water -two very visual examples of a phenomenon that takes place everywhere in the world around us. Studies of wave motion are most commonly associated with sound or radio transmissions, and, indeed, these are among the most common forms of wave activity experienced in daily life. Wave motion is activity that carries energy from one place to another without actually moving any matter. ![]()
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