Vi*bra"tion (?), n. [L. vibratio: cf. F. vibration.]
1. The act of
vibrating, or the state of being vibrated, or in vibratory motion; quick motion to and
fro; oscillation, as of a pendulum or musical string.
As a harper lays his open palm
Upon his harp, to deaden its
vibrations.
Longfellow.
2. (Physics) A limited reciprocating motion of a particle of an elastic body or medium in alternately opposite
directions from its position of equilibrium, when that equilibrium has been disturbed, as when a
stretched cord or other body produces musical notes, or particles of air transmit sounds to the ear. The path of the particle may be in a straight line, in a circular
arc, or in any curve whatever.
&fist;
Vibration and oscillation are both used, in mechanics, of the swinging, or rising and falling, motion of a suspended or
balanced body; the latter term more appropriately, as signifying such motion produced by gravity, and of any degree
of slowness, while the former applies especially
to the quick, short motion to and
fro which results from elasticity, or the action
of molecular forces among the particles of a body when disturbed from their position of rest, as in a spring.
Amplitude
of vibration, the maximum displacement of a vibrating particle or body from
its position of rest. -- Phase of vibration, any part of the path described by a particle or
body in making a complete vibration, in distinction from other parts, as while moving from one extreme to the other,
or on one side of the line of rest,
in distinction from the opposite. Two particles are said to be in the same phase when they are
moving in the same direction and with the same
velocity, or in corresponding parts of their paths.
Hear it pronounced