A spaceship captain lands on an unknown planet. Before venturing forth, he needs to find out the acceleration due to gravity on that planet. All he has available to him is some thin light string, a stopwatch, and a small 2.75-kg metal ball (it was a rough landing). So he lets the ball swing from a 1.5-m length of the string, starting at rest, and measures that it takes 1.9 s for it to swing from the place where he released it to the place where it first stops as it reverses direction. What is the acceleration due to gravity on this planet?
Simple harmonic motion
Simple harmonic motion is a type of periodic motion in which an object undergoes oscillatory motion. The restoring force exerted by the object exhibiting SHM is proportional to the displacement from the equilibrium position. The force is directed towards the mean position. We see many examples of SHM around us, common ones are the motion of a pendulum, spring and vibration of strings in musical instruments, and so on.
Simple Pendulum
A simple pendulum comprises a heavy mass (called bob) attached to one end of the weightless and flexible string.
Oscillation
In Physics, oscillation means a repetitive motion that happens in a variation with respect to time. There is usually a central value, where the object would be at rest. Additionally, there are two or more positions between which the repetitive motion takes place. In mathematics, oscillations can also be described as vibrations. The most common examples of oscillation that is seen in daily lives include the alternating current (AC) or the motion of a moving pendulum.
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