The damped oscillator is governed by a differential equation [math]ay''+by'+c=0[/math], where [math]a[/math]=mass, [math]b[/math]= the damping constant and [math]c[/math]=spring constant. if the damping is strong compared with the spring constant [math]\left(b^2>4ac\right)[/math] the motion is over damped, but if damping is small the motion oscillates.