simple harmonic motion: see harmonic motion.

harmonic progression: see progression.

harmonic motion, regular vibration in which the acceleration of the vibrating object is directly proportional to the displacement of the object from its equilibrium position but oppositely directed. A single object vibrating in this manner is said to exhibit simple harmonic motion (SHM). More complex harmonic motion can be analyzed as combinations of two or more simple harmonic motions. Examples of objects whose motion approximates SHM are a pendulum swinging in a small arc, a mass bouncing at the end of a stretched spring, and air molecules vibrating back and forth as a sound wave passes. Simple harmonic motion is a periodic motion; that is, it repeats itself at regular intervals. The time required for one complete vibration of the object is the period of the motion. The inverse of the period is the frequency, which is the number of vibrations per unit of time. The maximum displacement of the object from its central position of equilibrium is the amplitude of the motion. At maximum displacement the velocity of the object is zero; the velocity is greatest when the object passes through its equilibrium position. These terms are commonly used to describe any periodic phenomenon, e.g., wave motion and the rotation or revolution of an astronomical body. For any real harmonic motion, various forces act to reduce the amplitude with each vibration, i.e., to damp the motion. If these forces are small compared to the restoring force arising from the original displacement, then the object will vibrate a number of times with successively smaller amplitudes until the motion gradually dies out; this is known as damped harmonic motion. For a certain value of the damping forces, the object returns to its original position in a minimum amount of time and comes to rest at that position; such motion is termed critically damped. If the damping forces are large compared to the restoring force, the object returns slowly to its original position without vibrating at all; the system is said to be overdamped.

harmonic. 1 Physical term describing the vibration in segments of a sound-producing body (see sound). A string vibrates simultaneously in its whole length and in segments of halves, thirds, fourths, etc. These segments form what is known in algebra as a harmonic series or progression, since the rate of vibration of each segment is an integral multiple of the frequency of the whole string, i.e., each segment vibrates respectively twice, three times, four times, etc., as fast as the whole string. The vibration of the whole string produces the fundamental tone, and the segments produce weaker subsidiary tones. A similar phenomenon occurs in an air column in a pipe. At most the first 16 tones in such a series can be heard by the human ear; the character or timbre of a fundamental tone is determined by the number of its subsidiary tones heard and their relative intensity. The subsidiary tones have been loosely called harmonics (as a noun), but they are properly called partials, the fundamental tone being the first partial. They are also called overtones (a synonym for "upper partials"), although this term includes a number of sounds that do not fit in with the harmonic series, and are therefore not considered musical. 2 Term describing the silvery sound produced separately when the fundamental and possibly more partial tones are damped by touching a string at a nodal point. Similarly harmonics are produced separately in an air column by overblowing or in brass wind instruments by the use of valves.

Repetitive back-and-forth movement through a central, or equilibrium, position in which the maximum displacement on one side is equal to the maximum displacement on the other. Each complete vibration takes the same time, the period; the reciprocal of the period is the frequency of vibration. The force that causes the motion is always directed toward the equilibrium position and is directly proportional to the distance from it. A pendulum displays simple harmonic motion; other examples include the electrons in a wire carrying alternating current and the vibrating particles of a medium carrying sound waves.

Learn more about simple harmonic motion with a free trial on Britannica.com.