In mechanics, Sommerfeld effect is a phenomenon arising from feedback in the energy exchange between vibrating systems: for example, when for the rocking table, under given conditions, energy transmitted to the motor resulted not in higher revolutions but in stronger vibrations of the table.
In 1902, A. Sommerfeld analyzed the vibrations caused by a motor driving an unbalanced weight and wrote that "This experiment corresponds roughly to the case in which a factory owner has a machine set on a poor foundation running at 30 horsepower.
[1][2] First mathematical descriptions of Sommerfeld effect were suggested by I. Blekhman[3] and V.
[4] In the theory of hidden oscillations, Sommerfeld effect is explained by the multistability and presence in the phase space of dynamical model without stationary states of two coexisting hidden attractors, one of which attracts trajectories from vicinity of zero initial data (which correspond to the typical start up of the motor), and the other attractor corresponds to the desired mode of operation with a higher frequency of rotation.
[5][6] For example, the Sommerfeld effect with hidden attractors can be observed in dynamic models of drilling rigs, where the electric motor may excite torsional vibrations of the drill.