Timeline for Why are sine/cosine always used to describe oscillations?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
15 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Dec 6, 2015 at 22:21 | history | edited | Qmechanic♦ |
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| Apr 26, 2014 at 9:20 | answer | added | Skyler | timeline score: 1 | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 8:44 | answer | added | Abel Molina | timeline score: 6 | |
| Apr 23, 2014 at 7:47 | comment | added | Joce | Actually, the simple method is purely calculus: sine (and cosine, which is the same with a lag) is the solution of $\ddot{x}=-x$, which is the canonical, linear equation with an oscillatory solution. This means that this solution will be present in any linear oscillator. Then, the general approach with nonlinear problems is to break them down into linear problems, so you get back to sine. | |
| Apr 22, 2014 at 13:57 | vote | accept | SuperCiocia | ||
| Apr 21, 2014 at 2:46 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/#!/StackPhysics/status/458074270917459968 | ||
| Apr 19, 2014 at 23:19 | answer | added | Travis Bemrose | timeline score: 14 | |
| Apr 19, 2014 at 13:08 | answer | added | iheggie | timeline score: 1 | |
| Apr 19, 2014 at 1:17 | answer | added | Zo the Relativist | timeline score: 15 | |
| Apr 19, 2014 at 1:12 | answer | added | WhatRoughBeast | timeline score: 5 | |
| Apr 19, 2014 at 0:17 | comment | added | DumpsterDoofus | Basically, the answer is: yes, there are many other periodic functions, and the reason you typically see harmonics (like $\sin,e^{i\omega t}$) used is because in most simple applications of interest which are easily understandable, either the behavior itself is harmonic, or the behavior is most easily understood in terms of harmonics. There is also a bit of a confirmation bias: the systems which are not easily understood in terms of harmonics are often very difficult, and thus less people know about them, and so less textbooks are written about them. | |
| Apr 18, 2014 at 23:56 | answer | added | user12029 | timeline score: 36 | |
| Apr 18, 2014 at 23:42 | comment | added | DumpsterDoofus | Related: physics.stackexchange.com/q/108423 | |
| Apr 18, 2014 at 23:39 | answer | added | Shivam Sarodia | timeline score: 10 | |
| Apr 18, 2014 at 23:25 | history | asked | SuperCiocia | CC BY-SA 3.0 |