Introduction

In many physical systems, motion occurs near a stable equilibrium position. When the displacement from equilibrium is small, the motion can often be approximated as simple harmonic motion (SHM).

However, real systems often involve multiple interacting components, leading to more complex oscillations. These are described in terms of:

• Small oscillations
• Normal modes
• Coupled systems

This chapter extends the idea of SHM to systems with more than one degree of freedom.