Initial-amplitude dependence in weakly damped oscillators
Abstract
A pedagogically instructive experimental procedure is suggested for distinguishing between different damping terms in a weakly damped oscillator, which highclights the connection between non-linear damping and initial-amplitude dependence. The most common damping terms such as contact friction, air resistance, viscous drag, and electromagnetic damping have velocity dependences of the form constant, v, or v2. The corresponding energy dependences of the form E, E, or EE in the energy loss equation give rise to characteristic dependence of the amplitude decay slope on the initial amplitude.
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