A particle of mass 3m is suspended from the ceiling by a spring of force constant k. A second particle of mass 2m is suspended from the first particle by a second identical spring. The rest lengths of both springs are lo. The particles can only move vertically. Gravity acts as usual in the vertical direction.

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A particle of mass 3m is suspended from the ceiling by a spring of force constant k. A second particle of
mass 2m is suspended from the first particle by a second identical spring. The rest lengths of both springs
are lo. The particles can only move vertically. Gravity acts as usual in the vertical direction.
www
3m
ееее
ееее
2m
k
k
(a) How many degrees of freedom does the system have?
(b) Choose appropriate generalised coordinates and write down the Lagrangian of the system in terms of
them.
(c) Write down the Euler-Lagrange equations (by this I mean the explicit equations, so do perform the
derivatives of the Lagrangian).
(d) Find the equilibrium position of the particles. Is it stable?
Note: Remember our general three-step procedure for solving problems:
1. Find adequate generalised coordinates {9;} to describe the motion of the system. The number of
these coordinates, M, is the number of degrees of freedom of the system. I will collect them in an
M-dimensional vector, which I call q.
2. Re-express the kinetic energy T = ₁ m/2 in terms of the generalised coordinates and momenta
q and q (here n is the number of particles in the system).
d ƏL
dt əq
3. Write the Lagrangian L(q, q) = T(q, 4) - V(q). There will be one Lagrange equation for each gener-
alised coordinate q; you have, corresponding to each degree of freedom. These equations are
=
ƏL
Əq
Transcribed Image Text:A particle of mass 3m is suspended from the ceiling by a spring of force constant k. A second particle of mass 2m is suspended from the first particle by a second identical spring. The rest lengths of both springs are lo. The particles can only move vertically. Gravity acts as usual in the vertical direction. www 3m ееее ееее 2m k k (a) How many degrees of freedom does the system have? (b) Choose appropriate generalised coordinates and write down the Lagrangian of the system in terms of them. (c) Write down the Euler-Lagrange equations (by this I mean the explicit equations, so do perform the derivatives of the Lagrangian). (d) Find the equilibrium position of the particles. Is it stable? Note: Remember our general three-step procedure for solving problems: 1. Find adequate generalised coordinates {9;} to describe the motion of the system. The number of these coordinates, M, is the number of degrees of freedom of the system. I will collect them in an M-dimensional vector, which I call q. 2. Re-express the kinetic energy T = ₁ m/2 in terms of the generalised coordinates and momenta q and q (here n is the number of particles in the system). d ƏL dt əq 3. Write the Lagrangian L(q, q) = T(q, 4) - V(q). There will be one Lagrange equation for each gener- alised coordinate q; you have, corresponding to each degree of freedom. These equations are = ƏL Əq
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