One Degree Free Vibration
Description:
The mass-spring system is one of the most easily explainable oscillatory systems. This is because students may already be familiar with Hooke’s Law, showing the force exerted by a spring is proportional to the extension. Therefore, students can easily make the link to simple harmonic motion - defined as the oscillatory motion where the restoring force is proportional to the displacement. A back panel fixes to the Test Frame. The panel holds two vertical guide rods and a non-contacting displacement sensor. A test spring suspends a balanced mass platform which vibrates (oscillates) vertically in the guide rods. Students fit additional masses to the platform, and a second spring is provided to test various system combinations. The displacement sensor measures the vertical oscillations of the platform. An additional sensor (accelerometer) built into the platform measures the acceleration of the platform as it moves up and down. Both sensors measure the motion, yet create negligible damping. The back panel has a printed scale. Students use it with a cursor on the platform to measure accurately the spring extension, to show Hooke’s Law and find the spring constant.
Learning Objective:
Investigate simple vibrational system mass spring
Investigate effect of spring stiffness on vibrations
Observation of natural frequency
Device component:
Spring
Mass
Damper
Sensors for measurment
