A heavy duty hacksaw blade and a 1000 turn pick‐up coil form the basis of a mechanical oscillator for a laboratory exercise in mechanical resonance designed for either the elementary course or in association with an upper level mechanics course. Damped harmonic motion, amplitude, and phase resonance curves, and the transient motion of the system can be studied. Since the resonant frequencies are in the 10 to 20 Hz range, a digital multimeter can be used to record accurate amplitude resonance curves with minimal tedium.
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© 1995 American Association of Physics Teachers.
1995
American Association of Physics Teachers
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