Abstract
The steady-state motion of a sinusoidally driven, linearly damped oscillator is deduced and graphed without using phasors or differential equation methods. Only basic trigonometry and derivatives are employed to make the analysis accessible to introductory students. The frequency dependence of the phase shift is motivated physically. Application to simple ac filter circuits is made.
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F. B. Kneubil, Driven series RLC circuit and resonance: A graphic approach to energy, Phys. Teach., Vol.58, pp.256–259, April 2020.
R. L. Reese, University Physics (Brooks Cole, Pacific Grove CA, 2000), p. 1030.
M. C. Faleski, Transient behavior of the driven RLC circuit, Am. J. Phys., Vol.74, pp.429–437, May 2006.
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Carl Mungan has been a professor of physics at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland since 2000. He teaches across the undergraduate curriculum in physics for both majors and nonmajors. All midshipmen are required to take two semesters of calculus-based introductory physics.
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Mungan, C.E. An Elementary Introduction to Driven Damped Oscillators. Reson 27, 1033–1048 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-022-1395-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-022-1395-1