Resonance Applications in Physical Science

This book explores a large number of resonance effects that occur both in everyday life and in scientific contexts. It is a topic that provides a cross-link between many branches of science and shows how a single scientific principle can manifest itself in many, apparently disparate, ways. Resonance covers fields as diverse as civil engineering in relation to the safety of bridges, the quality of sound from musical instruments, the behaviour of electrical circuits, lasers, the orbits of solar-system bodies, the scattering of X-rays from atoms and the exploration of the structures of molecules, atoms and nuclei. The essential mathematics included should be accessible to any science undergraduate, no matter the discipline of their study. Problems and solutions are provided for every chapter to help reinforce understanding of the material.

Introduction

Simple Harmonic Motion, Damping and Resonance

Resonance in Everyday Life

Electrical Circuits and Resonance

Resonance in the Solar System

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Electron Spin Resonance

Resonance with Electromagnetic Radiation

Nuclear Physics, Radiation and Particle Physics

The Mössbauer Effect

Appendix I: The Binomial Theorem and Approximations

Appendix II: A Program for Simulating Kirkwood Gap Formation

Appendix III: A Program for Finding the Orbits of Trojan Asteroids

Physical Constants and Useful Data

Solutions to Examples and Problems

Index