15.2: Caractéristiques du mouvement harmonique simple
The key characteristic of simple harmonic motion is that the acceleration of the system, and therefore the net force, is proportional to the displacement, and acts in the opposite direction. Additionally, the period and frequency of a simple harmonic oscillator are independent of its amplitude. For example, a diving board moves faster or slower based on its thickness. A stiff diving board has a large force constant, which causes it to have a smaller period, while a thin diving board moves faster with a higher periodicity. The period of a simple harmonic oscillator is also affected by mass and the force constant. A heavy person on a diving board bounces up and down more slowly than a lighter person.
Simple harmonic motion of a system results in a sine and cosine waveform. By changing the amplitude, the maxima and minima of the curve change without affecting the period and frequency. Upon altering the phase angle, the curve shifts toward the right for negative values and toward the left for positive values. In general, negative phase angle values shift the regular cosine curve to the right.
This text is adapted from Openstax, College Physics, Section 16.3: Simple Harmonic Motion: A Special Periodic Motion and Openstax, University Physics Volume 1, Section 15.1: Simple Harmonic Motion.
