Abstract: By measuring the quality factor of spring oscillator on air track, the damping coefficient of spring oscillator is studied.The damping coefficient increases with the mass of the spring oscillator, while the quality factor increases first and decreases when the mass of the oscillator reaches the critical value.After attaching a small magnet sheet to the slider to increase magnetic damping, the ratio of the number of magnet sheets can be determined from the quality factor, and the change of the magnetic pole arrangement of the magnet sheet will cause the change of the quality factor.The damping of the spring oscillator is simulated by electrical method. The damped oscillation is shown directly on the oscilloscope. Under certain conditions, the time constant remains unchanged when the circuit damping increases.

Key words: air track, damping coefficient, quality factor, magnetic damping, damped oscillation, time constant