VIBRATION • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Vibration

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/vaɪbrˈeɪʃən/ Listen

noun

Vibration n.

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."

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. Note: 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.

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Etymology of 'Vibration'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Vibration" Quotes from Famous Books

... the shadows round the base of the tower, for his ears had already caught a faint, almost inaudible throbbing that seemed to grow from moment to moment. There certainly was a dull vibration in the air, a vibration like the distant hum of machinery. Suddenly old Edouard touched ...

— The Man Who Rocked the Earth • Arthur Train

... sea of sounds: again With curious ear I tried to disentangle The maze of voices, and with eye as nice To single out each minstrel, and pursue His little song through all its labyrinth, Till my soul enter'd into him, and felt Every vibration of his thrilling throat, Pulse of his heart, and flutter of his pinions. Often, as one among the multitude, I sang from very fulness of delight; Now like a winged fisher of the sea, Now a recluse among the woods,—enjoying The ...

— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, Vol. 10, - Issue 286, December 8, 1827 • Various

... shivered. He thought that some vibration of his highly wrought feeling had surely reached his beloved; that the heart-rending cry, drawn from him by hope, the utmost effort of a love that must last for ever, of passion in its ecstasy, striving to reach the soul of the woman ...

— Farewell • Honore de Balzac

... jar.] The essential thing to remember is that we may have electrical energy in two forms, the static and the kinetic; and it is, therefore, also possible to have the rapid alternation from one of these forms to the other, called vibration. ...

— Scientific American Supplement No. 275 • Various

... a listening ear had caught every vibration of his footstep, every tone of his voice, and a tear-stained face was now raised in agonised prayer, over folded hands which held in their clasp a ring hung on a white ...

— By Berwen Banks • Allen Raine

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