An oscillating mechanical system with n degrees of freedom has normal coordinates q1, q2, …, qn about an equilibrium q1 = q2 = ⋯ = qn = 0 if
where T denotes kinetic energy and V denotes potential energy. Here ω1, ω2, …, ωn are the natural frequencies of the system. The normal modes of the system are given by qk(t) = Akcos(ωkt + εk) with all other qj being 0.
For a simple light pendulum of length l with a mass m at the end, performing small oscillations about the downward vertical θ = 0, then
Thus, the normal coordinate is and the natural frequency is For a string y(x,t) fixed at y(0,t) = y(l,t) = 0 and performing small transverse oscillations, there are infinitely many degrees of freedom and the normal modes are
and the corresponding natural frequency is kπc/l. Here c2 = T/ρ where T is the tension in the string and ρ is its density.