For a second-order system, what does a damping ratio of less than 1 indicate?

For a second-order system, what does a damping ratio of less than 1 indicate?

Step 1: Understand what a second-order system is. It is a system that can be described by a second-order differential equation.
Step 2: Learn about the damping ratio. It is a number that helps us understand how a system responds to changes.
Step 3: Know that the damping ratio can be less than 1, equal to 1, or greater than 1.
Step 4: When the damping ratio is less than 1, it means the system is underdamped.
Step 5: An underdamped system will oscillate, meaning it will go up and down around a target value before finally settling down.
Step 6: This behavior is important in many applications, such as in control systems and mechanical systems.

Damping Ratio – A measure of how oscillations in a system decay after a disturbance.
Second-Order System – A dynamic system characterized by a second-order differential equation, often used in control theory.
Underdamped Response – A response where the system oscillates with decreasing amplitude before reaching steady state.