Project 3

Vibrational modes of glasses: The effects of disorder and nonlinearity

A linear chain of point masses coupled by harmonic springs is a standard model used to introduce various concepts of solid state physics.

A simple dynamical system with two degrees of freedom consists of two point masses or balls constrained to move in one dimension above a floor in a constant gravitational field. Due to assumed elastic collisions, the system exhibits discontinuities as a function of time.