Resonance

:This article is about resonance in physics. For other senses of this term, see resonance (disambiguation).

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In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to absorb more energy when the frequency of the oscillations matches the system's natural frequency of vibration (its resonant frequency) than it does at other frequencies. Examples are the acoustic resonances of musical instruments, the tidal resonance of the Bay of Fundy, orbital resonance as exemplified by some moons of the solar system's gas giants, the resonance of the basilar membrane in the biological transduction of auditory input, and resonance in electronic circuits.

Related Topics:
Physics - Frequency - Musical instruments - Tidal resonance - Bay of Fundy - Orbital resonance - Moon - Solar system - Gas giants - Basilar membrane - Transduction

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A resonant object, whether mechanical, acoustic, or electromagnetic, will probably have more than one resonant frequency (especially harmonics of the strongest resonance). It will be easy to vibrate at those frequencies, and more difficult to vibrate at other frequencies. It will "pick out" its resonant frequency from a complex excitation, such as an impulse or a wideband noise excitation. In effect, it is filtering out all frequencies other than its resonance.

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See also: center frequency

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