A magnet suspended by a spring will display simple harmonic motion when displaced. If the magnet oscillates within a coil connected to a resistor, its motion will be damped. Investigate the factors that affect the damping.

Background reading from IYPT reference kit

*20.6b Ex1: ON11 P41 Q3 Oscillating Magnet Damping | A2 Induction | CAIE A Level Physics(youtube, ETphysics, 02.02.2021), https://youtu.be/ElEMzE06r8Y *Wikipedia: Magnetic damping, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_damping *Wikipedia: LC circuit, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LC_circuit *Wikipedia: Electromagnetic induction, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_induction *B. Cadiou, C. Stephan, A. Renoult, and G. Michon. Damping adjustment of a nonlinear vibration absorber using an electro–magnetomechanical coupling. J. Sound Vib. 518, 116508 (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsv.2021.116508 *M.-H. Kwon and H.-M. Choi. Study on the underdamped oscillation of a mass-spring system subject to electromagnetic induction. New Physics: Sae Mulli 2, 62, 128-134 (2012), https://doi.org/10.3938/NPSM.62.128 *G. Donoso, C. L. Ladera, and P. Martín. Magnetically coupled magnet–spring oscillators. Eur. J. Phys. 3, 31, 433-452 (2010), https://doi.org/10.1088/0143-0807/31/3/002

*A. Singh, Y. N. Mohapatra, and S. Kumar. Electromagnetic induction and damping: Quantitative experiments using a PC interface. Am. J. Phys. 70, 4, 424-427 (2002), arXiv:physics/0111016 [physics.ed-ph], https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1446859 How resistance in coils affects the damping of oscillations of a magnet through them (physics.stackexchange.com, Aug 25, 2018), https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/424726/how-resistance-in-coils-affects-thedamping-of-oscillations-of-a-magnet-through

*A. Fow and M. Duke. Determining the characteristics of a passive linear electro-magnetic damper for a lightweight vehicle (waikato.ac.nz), https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/a89ae679-a936-46a1-a43af274c9ab4353/content

TYPT Supplementary References

Basic

[Sneller10] A. Sneller, and B. Mann, On the nonlinear electromagnetic coupling between a coil and an oscillating magnet. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 43, 295005, 2010. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/43/29/295005

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Notice the equivalent circuit of the part related to electromagnetic induction and the effect from changing the equilibrium position of the magnet.

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Advanced

[Bancel99JPhysD] F. Bancel, Magnetic nodes. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 32, 2155–2161, 1999. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/32/17/304 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353552839_Analytical_Solution_of_the_Euler-Poinsot_Problem

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Useful if the geometry and size of the magnet needs to be taken into account.

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[PIER09] R. Ravaud and G. Lemarquand. Magnetic field produced by parallel-periodic of various and uniform polarization . Progress In Electromagnetics Research, PIER 98, 207-219, 2009, https://www.jpier.org/PIER/pier.php?paper=09091704

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Useful if the geometry and size of the magnet needs to be taken into account.

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Possible Directions:

To quantify the damping behavior:

Study the temporal behaviors of oscillation amplitude (or the maximal speed of the magnet in each swing), the induced emf/current (across/through the coil or the load resistor).

Factors that may affect the damping