oscillation

American  

[os-uh-ley-shuhn] / ˌɒs əˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of oscillating.

2. a single swing or movement in one direction of an oscillating body.

3. fluctuation between beliefs, opinions, conditions, etc.

4. Physics.

   1. an effect expressible as a quantity that repeatedly and regularly fluctuates above and below some mean value, as the pressure of a sound wave or the voltage of an alternating current.

   2. a single fluctuation between maximum and minimum values in such an effect.

5. Mathematics.

   1. the difference between the least upper bound and the greatest lower bound of the functional values of a function in a given interval.

   2. Also called saltus.  the limit of the oscillation in an interval containing a given point, as the length of the interval approaches zero.

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oscillation British  

/ ˈɒsɪlətərɪ, ˌɒsɪˈleɪʃən, -trɪ /

noun

1. physics statistics

   1. regular fluctuation in value, position, or state about a mean value, such as the variation in an alternating current or the regular swinging of a pendulum

   2. a single cycle of such a fluctuation

2. the act or process of oscillating

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oscillation Scientific  

/ ŏs′ə-lā′shən /

1. A repeating fluctuation in a physical object or quantity.

2. See also attractor harmonic motion

3. A single cycle of such fluctuation.

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Other Word Forms

• oscillatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of oscillation

1650–60; < Latin oscillātiōn- (stem of oscillātiō ) a swinging, equivalent to oscillāt ( us ) ( oscillate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

This one used a slightly different frequency that would not put annoying oscillations on Channel 2.

From Los Angeles Times

These vibrations produce distinct tones defined by two measurements, Mitman explained: an oscillation frequency and a damping time.

From Science Daily

“There’s a pattern of the dollar going through these oscillations. Historically, this is not unusual,” Schiffer said in a phone interview.

From MarketWatch

Using this approach, the team generated surface acoustic waves vibrating at about 1 gigahertz, meaning billions of oscillations per second.

From Science Daily

A study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Nature Communications, explains how rhythmic brain activity known as alpha oscillations helps the brain separate the body from the outside world.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• vibration