Description

An oscillator is dedicated to the generation of signals. It is used in computers, telecoms, watchmaking, astronomy, and metrology. It can be a pendulum, an electronic oscillator based on quartz technology, an optoelectronic oscillator, or an atomic clock, depending on its application. Since water clocks of antiquity, mechanical clocks invented during the thirteenth century, and the discovery of piezoelectricity by Jacques and Pierre Curie in 1880, oscillators have made great progress. This book does not attempt to tell the story of oscillators, but rather provides an overview of particular oscillator structures through examples from mathematics to oscillators, and from the millimeter scale to the vibration of a building, focusing on recent developments, as we live in a time when technology and mathematical analysis play a vital role.