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Diving Board
Application of the Diving Board

When an object is subject to a restoring force proportional to the displacement, the object undergoes simple
harmonic motion, the same type of motion found in diving boards present many swimming pools.

One very important factor that has to be determined in a diving board would be its restoring force. If the
restoring force of a diving board is smaller than the weight of the diver, the diver's safety would be at stake as
the diving board would not be able to withstand his weight and might break. 

Let us now study the relationship between the restoring force and the weight of the diver.

If the end of a diving board is displaced (compressed, stretched or sheared by an amount △L), it experiences
a restoring force (Fboard) proportional to △L. Because of this, a vibrating diving board is closely analogous
to a mass on a spring and generally behaves as simple harmonic behaviour.

Let us once again take the downwards direction as negative and the upwards direction as positive.

By Hooke's law, 
Fboard = -kx, where k is the "spring" constant of the diving board (measured in N/m)

When a person stands on the diving board, x = -A.

Since the Fg = mg and Fboard = -kx,
Applying Newton's Second Law,
Fnet = Fboard - Fg
 = -kx - mg
=0

Here is a video on how the diving board's vibrating motion can be related to SHM.
YouTube Video

Simple harmonic motion (SHM) for beginners

*However, the oscillation of a diving board is a damped oscillation.

This is to ensure that the diving board would stop oscillating in a shorter period of time so as to allow the next
person to step onto the diving board as safely as possible.

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