Concepts: ● Resonance in Complex Systems ● Driven vs. Free Vibrations
Students compare the driving force to the resulting acceleration at different positions on the bridge. The 5 N Load Cells are used to measure the oscillations of the bridge at several different positions.
The bridge is struck by hand and allowed to freely oscillate. The FFT (using PASCO Capstone™) shows that there are several resonant frequencies. Note how different the amplitudes are at different locations on the bridge.
The resonance of the bridge is characterized by driving the bridge at different resonant frequencies. Note how different the amplitudes are at different locations on the bridge.