For 10 points, name this system that experiences a restoring force proportional to its displacement, the classic example of which is a mass on a spring.
This system has one elliptical separatrix. Small oscillations about a stable equilibrium point will produce approximately this type of system; the frequency of those oscillations is the square root of the second derivative of the potential energy at that point divided by the mass. When one of these systems is (*) damped, it can be described by a Q factor, which quantifies how fast this system loses energy. For 10 points, name this system that experiences a restoring force proportional to its displacement, the classic example of which is a mass on a spring.
This system has one elliptical separatrix. Small oscillations about a stable equilibrium point will produce approximately this type of system; the frequency of those oscillations is the square root of the second derivative of the potential energy at that point divided by the mass.
harmonic oscillator [prompt on “oscillator”; anti-prompt on “simple harmonic oscillator”] &lt;SR Physics&gt;