The dictionary was the first thing I checked. However, I was not sure
how helpful it was. "To swing back and forth" is consistent with my
usage of oscillation, but it does not necessarily pin it down. If a
simple pendulum has gone a little conical so it is highly elliptical,
many might describe it as "back and forth" even though it does not
actually go "back" and "forth" along the same path, through the
equilibrium point. On the other hand, if "back and forth" literally
means that "back" and "forth" traverse the same path, then I think the
dictionary is consistent with me, even though we used different words.
As for electronic oscillators, I think one can argue that some go "back
and forth" but others do not. An RC oscillator can be said to pass
energy back and forth from the inductor to the capacitor. The
capacitor's equilibrium position is uncharged. The inductor's
equilibrium position is zero current. On the other hand, a capacitor
relaxation "oscillator" does not follow a "back and forth" pattern.
Likewise, it is not obvious that a "square-wave oscillator" is an
oscillator. But a common square-wave oscillator (a quartz watch) uses
"back and forth" in the quartz even though the output is a square wave.
I have to admit that I am "looser" with my use of "oscillator" when it
comes to electronics.
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics and Chemistry
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu