A heavy particle is placed at the top of a vertical hoop.

Calculate the reaction of the hoop on the particle by means of

Lagranges undetermined multipliers and Lagranges equations
z = 0 is at the top of the ball. Potential energy and kinetic energy in polar coordinates are,
( ) ( )
2
2 2
1 1
2 2
( ) cos ( , ) ( ) ( )
d
dt
V z mg z mg r V r T m r m r r u u u u = = = = = + [I.1]
That makes the Lagrangian,

( )
2 2
1
( ) cos
2
L T V m r r mgr u u = = + [I.2]
Constraint, expressed as
0 ( ) r R r R f r = = = [I.3]
Lagranges undetermined multipliers appear as,
( ) ( )
1
1
1 1
0 0
m m
k k k k k k k
L d L f d f d f f d d f
q dt q q dt q dt q q dt dt q
o o
o o o o o o
o o
o o


= =
= =
| | | | | | | | | | | | c c c c c c c
= = = | | | | | |
|
c c c c c c c
\ . \ . \ . \ . \ . \ .

[I.4]
For ,
k
q r u = , and using [I.3], we see that [I.4] becomes the system,

( )
( )
2 2
( )
cos ( ) ( cos )
d r R
mr mg mr m r m r g
dt r
u u u u
c
= = + = +
c
[I.5]

( )
2 2
sin 0 2 sin
d
mgr mr rr r gr
dt
u u u u u = + = [I.6]
Using r R = (as agreed in [I.3]), the equations of motion [I.5] and [I.6] become,

2 2
2
(0 cos ) cos

2 0 sin sin
mR m g mR mg
R R gR R g
u u u u
u u u u u
( ( + = + + =

( (
+ = = ( (

[I.7]
The second equation of [I.7] is a nonlinear equation for u . However, it is not nonlinear but separable for u ,

d d d d
d d
dt d dt d
u u u u
u u u u u u
u u
= = = = [I.8]
Since u is a function of u alone ( sin
g
R
u u = , as in [I.7] itself), we can just integrate as we would a separable ODE,

2
1
0 2
sin ( cos )
g g
R R
d d u u u u u u u = = +
} }
[I.9]
Now we have the angular velocity at all u , and we know the angular velocity is zero when cos cos0 1 u = = and the
heavy particle is just sitting at the top of the barrel ( 0 u = ), and so,
( )
2
0
2 1 cos
g g
R R
u u u = = [I.10]
That we know u in terms of u alone means we can eliminate a time derivative u from the first relation in [I.7],
( ) ( ) 2 1 cos cos 2 1 cos cos
g
R
mR mg mg mg u u u u + = + = [I.11]
The has units of force, and is, by what Goldstein says on p. 48, the force of reaction by the barrel,
( ) ( ) cos 2 cos 1 3cos 2 mg mg mg u u u = + = [I.12]
The cos mg u is the ordinary normal force, and
2
2 (cos 1) mg mR u u = (see [I.7], 1
st
equation) is the effective
potential that flings the particle out a bit and acts to reduce the normal force a bit (note that cos 1 u is always negative
for
2
0
t
u < s ).
Find the height at which the particle falls off
The particle falls off when the normal force is zero. The height is the z-coordinate. Dont forget that R z R s s+ for
this problem.
Checking our answer
Consider this geometry,
[I.13]
By this geometry, note that V = 0 at top of hoop. Therefore, T = V, and we have a potential energy of,
( )
2
1
2
1 cos V mgR T mv u = = = [I.14]
We dont care what v is, only when the particle falls off the hoop. Solve for the quantity
2
mv
cent R
F = in [I.14],
( )
2
2 1 cos
cent
mv
mg F
R
u = = [I.15]
Particle falls off when centripetal force equals normal force. Normal force at any u is,
cos
N
F mg u = [I.16]
Setting [I.15] and [I.16] equal,
( )
1
2
3
2 1 cos cos 2 3cos cos ( )
cent N
F F mg mg u u u u

= = = = [I.17]
Acknowledgements: thanks to allen majewski for [I.13] to [I.17], which provided a useful check of the work up until
INSERT REFERENCE.