Resonance
Tendency to oscillate at certain frequencies / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Resonance is the phenomenon, pertaining to oscillatory dynamical systems, wherein amplitude rises are caused by an external force with time-varying amplitude with the same frequency of variation as the natural frequency of the system.[3] The amplitude rises that occur are a result of the fact that applied external forces at the natural frequency entail a net increase in mechanical energy of the system.
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Resonance can occur in various systems, such as mechanical, electrical, or acoustic systems, and it is often desirable in certain applications, such as musical instruments or radio receivers. However, resonance can also be detrimental, leading to excessive vibrations or even structural failure in some cases.
All systems, including molecular systems and particles, tend to vibrate at a natural frequency depending upon their structure; this frequency is known as a resonant frequency or resonance frequency. When an oscillating force, an external vibration, is applied at a resonant frequency of a dynamic system, object, or particle, the outside vibration will cause the system to oscillate at a higher amplitude (with more force) than when the same force is applied at other, non-resonant frequencies.[4]
The resonant frequencies of a system can be identified when the response to an external vibration creates an amplitude that is a relative maximum within the system.[4] Small periodic forces that are near a resonant frequency of the system have the ability to produce large amplitude oscillations in the system due to the storage of vibrational energy.
Resonance phenomena occur with all types of vibrations or waves: there is mechanical resonance, orbital resonance, acoustic resonance, electromagnetic resonance, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron spin resonance (ESR) and resonance of quantum wave functions. Resonant systems can be used to generate vibrations of a specific frequency (e.g., musical instruments), or pick out specific frequencies from a complex vibration containing many frequencies (e.g., filters).
The term resonance (from Latin resonantia, 'echo', from resonare, 'resound') originated from the field of acoustics, particularly the sympathetic resonance observed in musical instruments, e.g., when one string starts to vibrate and produce sound after a different one is struck.
Resonance occurs when a system is able to store and easily transfer energy between two or more different storage modes (such as kinetic energy and potential energy in the case of a simple pendulum). However, there are some losses from cycle to cycle, called damping. When damping is small, the resonant frequency is approximately equal to the natural frequency of the system, which is a frequency of unforced vibrations. Some systems have multiple, distinct, resonant frequencies.
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A familiar example is a playground swing, which acts as a pendulum. Pushing a person in a swing in time with the natural interval of the swing (its resonant frequency) makes the swing go higher and higher (maximum amplitude), while attempts to push the swing at a faster or slower tempo produce smaller arcs. This is because the energy the swing absorbs is maximized when the pushes match the swing's natural oscillations.[citation needed]
Resonance occurs widely in nature, and is exploited in many devices. It is the mechanism by which virtually all sinusoidal waves and vibrations are generated. For example, when hard objects like metal, glass, or wood are struck, there are brief resonant vibrations in the object.[citation needed] Light and other short wavelength electromagnetic radiation is produced by resonance on an atomic scale, such as electrons in atoms. Other examples of resonance include:
- Timekeeping mechanisms of modern clocks and watches, e.g., the balance wheel in a mechanical watch and the quartz crystal in a quartz watch
- Tidal resonance of the Bay of Fundy
- Acoustic resonances of musical instruments and the human vocal tract
- Shattering of a crystal wineglass when exposed to a musical tone of the right pitch (its resonant frequency)
- Friction idiophones, such as making a glass object (glass, bottle, vase) vibrate by rubbing around its rim with a fingertip
- Electrical resonance of tuned circuits in radios and TVs that allow radio frequencies to be selectively received
- Creation of coherent light by optical resonance in a laser cavity
- Orbital resonance as exemplified by some moons of the Solar System's gas giants
- Material resonances in atomic scale are the basis of several spectroscopic techniques that are used in condensed matter physics