damped harmonic motion

damped harmonic motion

[¦dampt har¦män·ik ′mō·shən]

(physics)

Also known as damped oscillation; damped vibration.

The linear motion of a particle subject both to an elastic restoring force proportional to its displacement and to a frictional force in the direction opposite to its motion and proportional to its speed.

A similar variation in a quantity analogous to the displacement of a particle, such as the charge on a capacitor in a simple series circuit containing a resistance.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.