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Re: Periodic motion vs. oscillation



I would think it rather is how you look at it. Planets oscillate between
perigee and apogee. Pendulums can either oscillate back and forth or in a
circle. What about circular polarization? I would say periodic motion is
fairly well defined, but oscillation is a more slippery term. Perhaps you
could say that oscillate is a verb with a noun form while periodic motion
has not yet been verbed.

Actually in a sense a vibration is never back to equilibrium because even
when the string is at the "rest position" it has a velocity. In a sense it
always has short term dynamic equilibrium because it does not go into an
unstable condition.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


What, if any, is the difference between periodic motion and
oscillations?

For example, the motion of the earth around the sun is an example of
periodic motion. But is it an example of an oscillation?

I thought that an oscillation is when something is forced back to some
equilibrium position (like a vibration). Periodic motion, on the other
hand, is something that repeats itself (i.e., is cyclic). Perhaps an
oscillation is an example of periodic motion but not all periodic
motions are oscillations?

____________________________________________________
Robert Cohen; 570-422-3428; www.esu.edu/~bbq
East Stroudsburg University; E. Stroudsburg, PA 18301