Base-excited oscillator

A base-excited oscillator has a moving support rather than a directly applied periodic force. If its damping depends on velocity relative to the support, $z=x-y$ obeys $m\ddot{z}+b\dot{z}+kz=-m\ddot{y}$. A model with damping against absolute velocity instead obeys $m\ddot{x}+b\dot{x}+kx=ky$ after subtracting its static equilibrium. These conventions give different transfer functions.