1. damping Preventing the indicator of an instrument from oscillating in virtue of its own inertia or elasticity. In a galvanometer it is defined as resistance to quick vibrations of the needle, in consequence of which it is rapidly brought to rest when deflected (Ayrton). In dead-beat galvanometers (see Galvanometer, Dead-Beat,) damping is desirable in order to bring the needle to rest quickly; in ballistic galvanometers (see Galvanometer, Ballistic,) damping is avoided in order to maintain the principle of the instrument. Damping may be mechanical, the frictional resistance of air to an air-vane, or of a liquid to an immersed diaphragm or loosely fitting piston, being employed. A dash-pot, q. v., is an example of the latter. It may be electro-magnetic. A mass of metal near a swinging magnetic needle tends by induced currents to arrest the oscillations thereof, and is used for this purpose in dead-beat galvanometers. This is termed, sometimes, magnetic friction. The essence of damping is to develop resistance to movement in some ratioproportional to velocity, so that no resistance is offered to the indicator slowly taking its trueposition. (See Galvanometer, Dead-Beat.)
Definitions of damping
