We now wish to illustrate how several op amp circuits can be interconnected to solve a differential equation.
a) Derive the differential equation for the spring. mass system shown in Fig. P8.61 (a). (See page $329 .$ ) Assume that the force exerted by the spring is directly proportional to the spring displacement, that the mass is constant, and that the frictional force is directly proportional to the velocity of the moving mass,
b) Rewrite the differential equation derived in $(a)$ so that the highest order derivative is expressed as a function of all the other terms in the equa tion. Now assume that a voltage equal to $d^{2} x / d t^{2}$ is available and by successive integrations gen. erates $d x / d t$ and $x$. We can synthesize the coeffi. cients in the equations by scaling amplifiers, and we can combine the terms required to generate $d^{2} x / d t^{2}$ by using a summing amplifier. With these ideas in mind, analyze the interconnection shown in Fig. P8.61(b). In particular, describe the purpose of each shaded area in the circuit and describe the signal at the points labeled C, D, E, and $F$, assuming the signal at A repre. sents $d^{2} x / d t^{2}$. Also discuss the parameters $R ; R_{1}$ $C_{1} ; R_{2}, C_{2} ; R_{3}, R_{4} ; R_{5}, R_{6} ;$ and $R_{7}, R_{8}$ in terms
of the coefficients in the differential equation.