Introduction to Mechanics: Simple Harmonic Motion and Non-Inertial Reference Frames
Learn how to solve and understand simple harmonic motion in this calculus-based physics course.
Course Information
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About this Course
This online physics course is the fourth in the xSeries that covers calculus-based mechanics. You will first explore simple harmonic motion through springs and pendulums. Following that lesson, you will learn how to solve the simple harmonic motion (SHM) differential equation and how to use the Taylor Formula for small oscillations.
Next, you will learn how to modify Newton’s second law for both linear and rotational non-inertial reference frames. In particular, you will learn about the centrifugal and Coriolis fictitious forces. You will then study their applications, such as dynamics in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The xSeries in Introduction to Mechanics is a four-part series of online courses that is based on the MIT subject 8.01: Physics I, required of all MIT undergraduates.
What you'll learn
- Kinematics
- Newton’s Laws
- Circular Motion
- Resistive Forces. Constraints, and Massive Ropes
Prerequisites
- Calculus 1A: Differentiation
- Calculus 1B: Integration
- Calculus 1C: Coordinate Systems & Infinite Series
- Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics
- Mechanics: Momentum and Energy
- Mechanics: Rotational Dynamics
Meet your instructors
Deepto Chakrabarty
Professor of Physics and Department Head of Physics
Professor Chakrabarty was awarded a Ph.D. in Physics from Caltech in 1996, following two years at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as a staff physicist working on the Berkeley Automated Supernova Search. Prior to that, he completed his S.B. in Physics at MIT in 1988. After receiving his doctorate, he returned to MIT for a three-year appointment as a NASA Compton GRO Postdoctoral Fellow, including a short stint as a visiting fellow at Balliol College, Oxford University. In 1999, he became an assistant professor within the Department of Physics and was tenured in 2004. In 2020, he was named Associate Head of the Department. In Summer 2022, he was named the new Head of the Department.
Chakrabarty is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a legacy fellow of the American Astronomical Society.
