Simple harmonic motion

Simple harmonic motion is periodic motion in which a restoring force is proportional to displacement from equilibrium and directed toward equilibrium. Its displacement varies sinusoidally with time.

Hooke's law: A law stating that an elastic force is proportional to displacement within the material's elastic limit. A spring obeying this relation provides the standard physical realization of simple harmonic motion.
Equilibrium position: A position at which the net force on a system is zero. Displacement is measured from this position, toward which the restoring force points.
Mass–spring system: A mass attached to a spring that oscillates when displaced from equilibrium. With an ideal linear spring and no damping, its motion is simple harmonic.
Nonlinear oscillator: An oscillator whose restoring force is not proportional to displacement. Its period or waveform can depend on amplitude, unlike ideal simple harmonic motion.
Angular frequency: The rate of change of phase, measured in radians per unit time. It sets how quickly the oscillator's sinusoidal displacement repeats.
Restoring force: A force that tends to return a displaced system toward a stable equilibrium. Simple harmonic motion is the special case where this force grows linearly with displacement.
Simple pendulum: A point mass suspended from a fixed pivot by a massless, inextensible string. At small angles, its restoring torque produces approximately simple harmonic motion.
Anharmonicity: Deviation of an oscillator from a purely quadratic potential and harmonic behavior. Real systems often depart from simple harmonic motion at larger displacements.
Amplitude: The maximum magnitude of a periodic quantity's displacement from its equilibrium value. It sets the largest excursion, without changing the period in ideal linear motion.
Mass: A measure of an object's inertia and its resistance to acceleration. In a mass–spring oscillator, inertia combines with spring stiffness to determine the period.

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