Definition:Degrees of Freedom (Physics)/Definition 2
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Definition
Consider an oscillating system $S$ disturbed from equilibrium.
The number of degrees of freedom of $S$ is the number of independent variables needed to specify the configuration of $S$ at any time.
Also see
Sources
- 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): normal modes
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): normal modes