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Nature 395, 116-117 (10 September 1998) | doi:10.1038/25847
Mathematics: Nonlinear modes of vibration
Ivar Ekeland1
One of the most fundamental results in classical mechanics is that linear systems with n degrees of freedom have n fundamental modes of vibration, and that any motion of the systems can be obtained as a linear combination of these fundamental modes. This combination principle does not hold for nonlinear systems, but one suspects that a few periodic solutions will play a part akin to the fundamental modes.
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