Resonance

Program 117


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The music and the mathematics of nature, Part II. As Galileo noted, the swings of a pendulum increasingly grow with repeated, timed applications of a small force. When the frequency of an applied force matches the natural frequency of a system, large amplitude oscillations result in the phenomenon of resonance. Resonance explains why a swaying bridge collapsed in a mild wind, and how a wine glass can be shattered by a human voice.