What is Simple harmonic motion?
[[File:Simple harmonic motion.svg|thumb]] [[Image:Animated-mass-spring.gif|right|frame|A weight on a spring shows simple harmonic motion.]] A thing that is moving back and forth is said to be [[Vibration|vibrating]]. Another word for vibration is [[oscillation]]. A special way of vibrating or oscillating is called ''simple harmonic motion''. When measuring [[Motion (physics)|motion]], it is normal to make a [[graph]] with time on one [[axis]] and [[distance]] on the other. Sometimes, when something moves its distance from a [[fixed point]] it looks like a [[sine wave]] in that kind of graph. In [[mathematics]] and [[physics]], this is called '''simple harmonic motion''' (sometimes shortened as '''{{abbr|SHM|simple harmonic motion}}'''). This movement will happen when the [[force]] towards the fixed point is [[proportion]]al to the distance from the point (the force goes down as much as the distance goes up) and always acts towards that point. Some examples are a weight on a spring and a simple [[pendulum]] (for small oscillations). These are not perfect examples, but they are close to having simple harmonic motion. == Introduction == In simple harmonic motion, a [[particle]] moves along a straight line. Its [[acceleration]] will always point towards [[Fixed point (mathematics)|fixed point]] on this line. The [[Magnitude (mathematics)|magnitude]] (or amount) of acceleration changes [[Proportionality|proportionally]] to the particle's [[Displacement vector|displacement]] from the [[fixed point]]. This means that the acceleration of the particle is bigger when the particle is farther away from the fixed point. This also means that the acceleration of the particle will be smaller if the particle is closer to the fixed point.<ref>{{cite web|title=Simple Harmonic Motion – Concepts|url=https://www.webassign.net/question_assets/ncsucalcphysmechl3/lab_7_1/manual.html}}</ref> A [[Harmonic oscillator|simple harmonic oscillator]] can be made in many ways. One common way is to put a [[Weight|weighted object]] at the end o