Oscillations of a Pogo Stick

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This Demonstration shows the oscillations of the spring in a bouncing pogo stick. The system is modelled using a second-order nonhomogenous linear differential equation. It shows the effect that the driving force (when the pogo stick and user come into contact with the ground) has on the damped spring oscillation. The driving force is modelled using a Heaviside function multiplied by a force that is affected by the mass of the person, gravity, spring constant, and height of the jump.
Contributed by: Noel Patson, Aidan Wallace, Mitchell Lees, Matthew Nipperess, and Nicholas Bloxsom (March 2011)
Based on a program by: Rob Morris
Open content licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
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"Oscillations of a Pogo Stick"
http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/OscillationsOfAPogoStick/
Wolfram Demonstrations Project
Published: March 7 2011