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Oscillations

The equation of motion


Using Newton's law, we find

m d2α/dt2 = ma = Wm = - mg sin(α)


The minus sign comes because the restoring force Wm is in the direction which is opposite to the displacement.
It follows a second order differential equation in α which is given by

d2α/dt2 = - (g/) sin(α)


Unfortunately, this second order differential equation is way to difficult for us to solve it.

In the following we study an approximation for small angles.



small angles