Mass and Spring
A project concerning harmonic motion

Objective: Build a mass spring system. Measure physical motion and compare to ODE models.

Two conceivable variations: hanging spring or horizontal spring on an air track.

Aspects that could constitute significant (sub)projects:
(a) Modeling (i.e., determining ODE's beyond the basic y''=y-c, especially those that model the diminishing of the motion over time).
(b) Tuning (i.e., building and adjusting the apparatus to minimize or otherwise control dissipation).
(c) Position sensing/measurement.

Progress:

Fall 2001 (Lee) Filmed mass-spring system in ACE Lab. Found much better setup in Physics department. Used only linear damping model. Data showed clear differences after only one minute. Still in search of a better fit with nonlinear damping and explanation of relation to physical setup.