Damping

Damping is an influence within or upon an oscillatory system that has the effect of reducing, restricting or preventing its oscillations. In physical systems, damping is produced by processes that dissipate the energy stored in the oscillation. Examples include viscous drag in mechanical systems, resistance in electronic oscillators, and absorption and scattering of light in optical oscillators. Damping not based on energy loss can be important in other oscillating systems such as those that occur in biological systems.

The damping of a system can be described as being one of the following:

For example, consider a door that uses a spring to close the door once open. This can lead to any of the above types of damping depending on the strength of the damping. If the door is undamped it will swing back and forth forever at a particular resonant frequency. If it is underdamped it will swing back and forth with decreasing size of the swing until it comes to a stop. If it is critically damped then it will return to closed as quickly as possible without oscillating. Finally, if it is overdamped it will return to closed without oscillating but more slowly depending on how overdamped it is. Different levels of damping are desired for different types of systems.

Floating (Eloy album)

Floating is the third album by the German progressive rock band Eloy. It was released in 1974.

Track listing

2001 Remastered Edition Bonus Tracks

Personnel

References

External links

Confusion

Confusion (from Latin confusĭo, -ōnis, from confundere: "to pour together;" "to mingle together;" "to confuse") is the state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something.

Medical term

The term, "acute mental confusion" is often used interchangeably with delirium in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems and the Medical Subject Headings publications to describe the pathology. These refer to the loss of orientation, or the ability to place oneself correctly in the world by time, location; and personal identity. Mental confusion is sometimes accompanied by disordered consciousness (the loss of linear thinking) and memory loss (the ability to correctly recall previous events or learn new material).

Causes

Confusion may result from drug side effects or from a relatively sudden brain dysfunction. Acute confusion is often called delirium (or "acute confusional state"), although delirium often includes a much broader array of disorders than simple confusion. These disorders include the inability to focus attention; various impairments in awareness; and temporal or spatial dis-orientation. Mental confusion can result from chronic organic brain pathologies, such as dementia, as well.

Object

Object may refer to:

General topics

Mathematical object

A mathematical object is an abstract object arising in mathematics. The concept is studied in philosophy of mathematics.

In mathematical practice, an object is anything that has been (or could be) formally defined, and with which one may do deductive reasoning and mathematical proofs. Commonly encountered mathematical objects include numbers, permutations, partitions, matrices, sets, functions, and relations. Geometry as a branch of mathematics has such objects as hexagons, points, lines, triangles, circles, spheres, polyhedra, topological spaces and manifolds. Another branch—algebra—has groups, rings, fields, group-theoretic lattices, and order-theoretic lattices. Categories are simultaneously homes to mathematical objects and mathematical objects in their own right. In proof theory, proofs and theorems are also mathematical objects.

The ontological status of mathematical objects has been the subject of much investigation and debate by philosophers of mathematics.

Cantorian framework

Goal

A goal is a desired result that a person or a system envisions, plans and commits to achieve: a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development. Many people endeavor to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.

It is roughly similar to purpose or aim, the anticipated result which guides reaction, or an end, which is an object, either a physical object or an abstract object, that has intrinsic value.

Goal setting

Goal setting may involve establishing specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bounded (SMART) objectives, but not all researchers agree that these SMART criteria are necessary.

Research on goal setting by Edwin A. Locke and his colleagues suggests that goal setting can serve as an effective tool for making progress when it ensures that group members have a clear awareness of what each person must do to achieve a shared objective. On a personal level, the process of setting goals allows individuals to specify and then work toward their own objectives (such as financial or career-based goals). Goal-setting comprises a major component of personal development and management.