This book builds on the fundamental understandings, learned in undergraduate engineering and physics in principles of dynamics and control of mechanical systems. The design of real-world mechanical systems and devices becomes far more complex than the spring-pendulum system to which most engineers have been exposed. The authors provide one of the simplest models of nonlinear dynamical systems for learning complex nonlinear dynamical systems. The book addresses the complex challenges of the necessary modeling for the design of machines. The book addresses the methods to create a mechanical system with stable and unstable motions in environments influenced by an array of motion complexity including varied excitation frequencies ranging from periodic motions to chaos. Periodic motions to chaos, in a periodically forced nonlinear spring pendulum system, are presented through the discrete mapping method, and the corresponding stability and bifurcations of periodic motions on the bifurcation trees are presented. Developed semi-analytical solutions of periodical motions to chaos help the reader to understand complex nonlinear dynamical behaviors in nonlinear dynamical systems. Especially, one can use unstable motions rather than stable motions only.

Pendulum is the simplest nonlinear system, which, however, provides the means for the description of different phenomena in Nature that occur in physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, communications, economics and sociology. The chaotic behavior of pendulum is usually associated with the random force acting on a pendulum (Brownian motion). Another type of chaotic motion (deterministic chaos) occurs in nonlinear systems with only few degrees of freedom. This book presents a comprehensive description of these phenomena going on in underdamped and overdamped pendula subject to additive and multiplicative periodic and random forces. No preliminary knowledge, such as complex mathematical or numerical methods, is required from a reader other than undergraduate courses in mathematical physics. A wide group of researchers, along with students and teachers will, thus, benefit from this definitive book on nonlinear dynamics.

A periodically forced mathematical pendulum is one of the typical and popular nonlinear oscillators that possess complex and rich dynamical behaviors. Although the pendulum is one of the simplest nonlinear oscillators, yet, until now, we are still not able to undertake a systematical study of periodic motions to chaos in such a simplest system due to lack of suitable mathematical methods and computational tools. To understand periodic motions and chaos in the periodically forced pendulum, the perturbation method has been adopted. One could use the Taylor series to expend the sinusoidal function to the polynomial nonlinear terms, followed by traditional perturbation methods to obtain the periodic motions of the approximated differential system.This book discusses Hamiltonian chaos and periodic motions to chaos in pendulums. This book first detects and discovers chaos in resonant layers and bifurcation trees of periodic motions to chaos in pendulum in the comprehensive fashion, which is a base to understand the behaviors of nonlinear dynamical systems, as a results of Hamiltonian chaos in the resonant layers and bifurcation trees of periodic motions to chaos. The bifurcation trees of travelable and non-travelable periodic motions to chaos will be presented through the periodically forced pendulum.

"This is the third edition of the Activity Guide developed as part of the Workshop Physics Project. Although this Guide contains text material and experiments, it is neither a textbook nor a laboratory manual. It is a student workbook designed to serve as the foundation for a two-semester, calculus-based introductory physics course sequence that is student-centered and focuses on hands-on learning. The activities have been designed using the outcomes of physics education research and honed through years of classroom testing at Dickinson College. The Guide consists of 28 units that interweave written descriptions with activities that involve predictions, qualitative observations, explanations, equation derivations, mathematical modeling, quantitative experimentation, and problem solving. Throughout these units, students make use of a flexible set of computer-based data-acquisition tools to record, display, and analyze data, as well as to develop mathematical models of various physical phenomena"--

Vibration Testing and System Dynamics is an interdisciplinary journal serving as the forum for promoting dialogues among engineering practitioners and research scholars. As the platform for facilitating the synergy of system dynamics, testing, design, modeling, and education, the journal publishes high-quality, original articles in the theory and applications of dynamical system testing. The aim of the journal is to stimulate more research interest in and attention for the interaction of theory, design, and application in dynamic testing. Manuscripts reporting novel methodology design for modelling and testing complex dynamical systems with nonlinearity are solicited. Papers on applying modern theory of dynamics to real-world issues in all areas of physical science and description of numerical investigation are equally encouraged. Progress made in the following topics are of interest, but not limited, to the journal: Vibration testing and designDynamical systems and controlTesting instrumentation and controlComplex system dynamics in engineeringDynamic failure and fatigue theoryChemical dynamics and bio-systemsFluid dynamics and combustionPattern dynamicsNetwork dynamicsPlasma physics and plasma dynamicsControl signal synchronization and trackingBio-mechanical systems and devicesStructural and multi-body dynamicsFlow or heat-induced vibrationMass and energy transfer dynamicsWave propagation and testing

A clear introduction to chaotic phenomena for undergraduate students in science, engineering, and mathematics.