Can you explain the principle of Oscillator?

Question

Can you explain the principle of Oscillator?

Answer 1

An electrical circuit can use a capacitor and a reactor (coil of wire, etc.) in parallel.  When resonating, electrical energy will flow back and forth from the capacitor to the reactor and back (like a pendulum) and oscillate at a desired frequency.

Answer 2

electronic oscillator? Audio, RF?

Unintended electronic oscillation?

Mechanical oscillator?

Simple harmonic motion?

Optical?

Chemical?

other?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscillator

Answer 3

It uses a tank circuit. Tank circuit is compose mainly of an inductor and a capacitor connected in parallel. When you apply voltage in the tank circuit alone, it will charge up the capacitor up to the voltage equal to the source. If you remove the voltage source, the capacitor will discharge through the inductor (let's say in clockwise direction). While capacitor discharges, the inductor creates an electrical field that will store the energy coming from the capacitor. When the capacitor is fully discharged, the inductor will start inducing voltage (from the stored energy) to the capacitor, again charging the capacitor in the opposite direction (counter-clockwise). This charge and discharge in the opposite direction results in alternating current. This is what we call now oscillation. This oscillation will not occur continuously since the pathway of the current has resistance. It will dissipate exponentially. So to provide continuing oscillation, you need an amplifier circuit with feedback coming from the tank circuit as input. And the whole system is now what we call Oscillator.