Vaimennushas
Vaimennushas, often translated as damping or attenuation in English, refers to a phenomenon where the amplitude of an oscillating system decreases over time. This decrease is typically caused by dissipative forces such as friction, air resistance, or internal material properties. Without damping, an ideal oscillating system, like a perfectly frictionless pendulum or a spring with no internal resistance, would continue to oscillate indefinitely with constant amplitude.
The rate at which the amplitude decays is determined by the degree of damping. In a critically