To Master Physics, First Master the Harmonic Oscillator
It’s hard to overstate how important the simple harmonic oscillator is in so many areas of physics. Almost every system is an oscillator near a stable equilibrium! Get the notes for free here: https://www.physicswithelliot.com/not…
Of all the systems you’ll study in your first physics class, the oscillations of a block attached to a spring are a subject you’ll meet again and again throughout your physics education. The spring exerts a force on the block (sometimes called Hooke’s law) that tries to push it back toward equilibrium, and the result is that the block oscillates around equilibrium in simple harmonic motion. But why is this simple system so prevalent throughout physics? The basic reason is that you can Taylor expand any potential energy function near a stable equilibrium point, and it will almost always look like the parabola of the simple harmonic oscillator potential energy!
