simple harmonic motion

American

noun

Physics.

vibratory motion in a system in which the restoring force is proportional to the displacement from equilibrium. S.H.M., s.h.m.

simple harmonic motion British

noun

SHM. a form of periodic motion of a particle, etc, in which the acceleration is always directed towards some equilibrium point and is proportional to the displacement from this point

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

simple harmonic motion Scientific

See harmonic motion

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The gravity tunnel problem is used in teaching precisely because it produces such simple harmonic motion.

From Science Magazine

For physics, cover simple harmonic motion and waves.

From US News

But after weeks in the class, helping one another with Newton’s laws, friction and simple harmonic motion, they’d started to feel as if they shared the same carrel in the library.

From Time

The amplitude of a simple harmonic motion is the range on one side or the other of the middle point of the course.

From Project Gutenberg

Rotational motion leads naturally to a discussion of centripetal force, and this in turn is simple harmonic motion.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023