Course: PH11003: Physics of waves : 2022–2023(II)
* marked problems are for classwork, rest for homework
** marked problems are difficult, but optional
Tutorial 2: Damped and forced oscillations
1. A door shutter has a spring which, in the absence of damping, shuts the door in 0.5
seconds. The problem is that the door bangs shut with a speed 1 m/s. A damper with a
damping coefficient β is introduced to ensure that the door shuts gradually. What are the
times required for the door to shut and the velocities of the door at the instant it shuts, if
β = 0.5π and β = 0.9π. Note that the spring is unstretched when the door is shut.
2. Practice with 2nd order differential equations:
* (a) Solve the initial value problem set up by the differential equation below:
ẍ + 100x = 15 cos 5t + 20 sin 5t (1)
where x(t = 0) = 25 and ẋ(t = 0) = 0.
(b) Find the particular solution xp (t) in the form xp (t) = C cos(ωt − α) for the following
ordinary differential equation:
ẍ + 3ẋ + 5x = −4 cos 5t. (2)
3. Consider an undamped mass-spring system subject to a harmonic force F = F0 cos ωt.
(a) Write down the equation of motion.
(b) Obtain the general solution for x(t).
(c) If ω = ω0 where ω0 is the natural frequency of the un-forced system then how does x(t)
behave with time?
(d) If the external force is not harmonic but it is of the form F (t) = αtn then will the
motion x(t) still be oscillatory? Solve for α = 1, n = 1; α = −1, n = 2 and demonstrate
your answer.
* 4. (Source: French’s book/MIT OCW) Imagine a simple seismograph consisting of
a mass M hung from a spring on a rigid frame attached to the earth (see Figure 1). The
M
Earth
FIG. 1. Figure for Problem 2
spring force and the damping force depend on the displacement and velocity relative to the
Earths surface, but the relevant acceleration (Newtons 2nd law) of M is relative to the fixed
stars.
(a) Using y to denote the displacement of M relative to the earth and η to denote the
displacement of the earths surface relative to the fixed stars, show that the equation of
motion is
d2 y dy 2 d2 η
+ γ + ω0 y = − (3)
dt2 dt dt2
(b) Solve for y (steady-state) if η = Ccosωt.
(c) Sketch a graph of the amplitude A of the displacement y as a function of ω (supposing
C the same for all ω).
(d) A typical long-period seismometer has a period of about 30 sec and a quality factor
Q of about 2. As the result of a violent earthquake the Earths surface may oscillate with a
period of about 20 minutes and with an amplitude such that the maximum acceleration is
about 109 m/sec2 . How small a value of A must be observable if this is to be detected?
5. Consider a undamped harmonic oscillator of mass m and spring constant k subject to
a constant force F . When the particle is in equilibrium the force is applied for τ seconds.
Find the amplitude of oscillation after the force ceases to exist.
* 6. A 50 gm mass is suspended by a spring of spring constant k = 20N/m. The mass
performs steady state vertical oscillations of amplitude 1.3 cm due to an external harmonic
3π
force of frequency ω = 25s−1 . The displacement lags behind the force by an angle 4
. Find:
(a) The quality factor Q of the oscillator.
(b) The work done by the external force in one oscillation.
* 7. Two different forced oscillating systems are given to you. They have the same natural
frequency ω0 . For one of them the resonance occurs at ωr1 and for the other at ωr2 . The
damping coefficients are different: β1 and β2 .
(a) Draw qualitatively the two resonance curves on the same graph paper, when β1 > β2 .
Can these two curves intersect?
(b) If β1 = 0.2 units and β2 = 0.5 units then find the expressions for ωr1 , ωr2 and the
FWHM in each case.
** 8. Curious oscillations! A candle is pierced transversely by a needle near its centre
of mass and balanced between two low friction supports. When lit on both ends, it will
drip asymmetrically and begin to oscillate like a seesaw –the candle seesaw. How does one
explain this oscillatory motion ? What are its characteristics?