American Journal of Physics

Adiabatic and nonadiabatic processes in classical and quantum mechanics

Humphrey J. Maris, Quan Xiong

Published Dec 1, 1988• 12 citations

Abstract

The problem of two coupled pendulums, one of which has a length that varies with time so that the pendulum passes through resonance with the other is considered. An expression is derived for the amount of energy transferred between the pendulums as a function of the rate of change of the length and the strength of the coupling spring. This is done by making a connection with the quantum mechanical two-level system.

DOI: 10.1119/1.15734

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