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Transverse Standing Waves on a Spring

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Transverse standing waves are excited on a large spring. The fundamental and first and second harmonics are excited.

Title: Transverse Standing Waves on a Spring

Keywords: standing, waves, spring, transverse, mechanical

Category: Mechanical Waves

Author: Matthias Liepe

Producer: Cornell University

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Standing waves are setup on a spring that is about 4 meters long. At first only the fundamental, or lowest frequency is excited; then the first harmonic and second harmonics are also excited. It can be seen that if the amplitudes of oscillation are the same, there is more energy stored in the higher harmonics.