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Glite Dictionary
🌡️ Not simple motion 🔔 Not pure tone
anharmonic

anharmonic

9.8
A movement or vibration that is not a simple back-and-forth at a steady rate
  • adjective
  • /ˌæn.hɑːrˈmɒn.ɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : anharmónico
  • Examples include the Pschl-Teller anharmonic quantum system and a generalization by Teller and Julius Ashkin of the Ising phase-transition model.

Examples

  • To analyze the anharmonic behavior of the system, researchers measured the frequencies of the vibrations under varying conditions.

  • In certain advanced materials, the vibrations can be anharmonic, leading to unique thermal properties.

  • But molecular vibrations are anharmonic:

    Academic text (2012)

  • The physicist explained how anharmonic oscillations occur when the restoring force is not proportional to the displacement.

Antonyms

harmonic
  • Specialized
8 6.9

Relating to extra tones that add to a main sound in music or physics

How Harmonic

harmonic
  • Specialized
8 6.9
anharmonic
  • Specialized
9.8
irregular
27 3.5

Surface Forms

anharmonic positive

Morphology

anharmonic = harmonic (semi-transparent) = an + harmonic

The negative prefix 'an-' is directly attached to 'harmonic' to mean 'not harmonic', a straightforward morphological negation.

Etymology

Anharmonic comes from an- meaning 'not' and harmonic, linked to 'harmony' or 'harmonica', so it means 'not following a simple harmony'. In physics this helps you remember that an anharmonic motion does not follow a simple back-and-forth pattern, so its movement is more complex.