I'd like to know what an oscillator is used for?

 

Many things. The Wikipedia article has some good references you can look up - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_oscillator.

 

I'm a newby to electronics and very appreciative for the help

 

Many things. The Wikipedia article has some good references you can look up - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_oscillator.

Thank you for directing me here. Sorry for my first message being so vague.

 

By now you can see that there are just numbers of uses for oscillators, but it's also impossible to run all of them down in a reasonable sized posting. Specific questions make for easier answers.