Introduction

We begin the study of oscillations with simple systems of pendulums and springs. Although these systems may seem quite basic, the concepts involved have many real-life applications. For example, the Comcast Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, stands approximately 305 meters (1000 feet) tall. As buildings are built taller, they can act as inverted, physical pendulums, with the top floors oscillating due to seismic activity and fluctuating winds. In the Comcast Building, a tuned-mass damper is used to reduce the oscillations. Installed at the top of the building is a tuned, liquid-column mass damper, consisting of a 300,000-gallon reservoir of water. This U-shaped tank allows the water to oscillate freely at a frequency that matches the natural frequency of the building. Damping is provided by tuning the turbulence levels in the moving water using baffles.