CHAPTER Dynamics of a System of Particles 9.1 Introduction Thus far, we have treated our dynamical problems primarily in terms of single particles. Even though we have considered extended objects such as projectiles and planets, we have been able to treat them as single particles. Generally, we have not had to deal with the internal interactions between the many particles that make up the extended body. Later, when we treat the dynamics of rigid bodies, we must describe rota- tional as well as translational motion. We need to prepare the techniques that will allow us to do this. We first extend our discussion to describe the system of n particles. These particles may form a loose aggregate—such as a pile of rocks or a volume of gas molecules—or form a rigid body in which the constituent particles are re- strained from moving relative to one another. We devote the latter part of the chapter to a study of the interaction of two particles (n = 2). For the three-body problem (nx = 3), the solutions become formidable. Perturbation techniques often are used, although great progress has been made through the use of nu- merical methods with high-speed computers. Finally, we shall examine rocket motion. Newton’s Third Law plays a prominent role in the dynamics of a system of particles because of the internal forces between the particles in the system. We need to make two assumptions concerning the internal forces: 1. The forces exerted by two particles a and B on each other are equal in mag- nitude and opposite in direction. Let fg represent the force on the ath 3289.2. CENTER OF MASS 329 FIGURE 9-1 Example of the strong form of Newton’s Third Law, where the equal and opposite forces between two particles must lie along a straight line Joining the two particles. The force is attractive, as in the molecular attraction in a solid. particle due to the Bth particle. The so-called “weak” form of Newton's Third Law is fap = —Fa (9.1) 2. The forces exerted by two particles a and B on each other, in addition to being equal and opposite, must lie on the straight line joining the two parti- cles. This more restrictive form of Newton’s Third Law, often called the “strong” form, is displayed in Figure 9-1. We must be careful to remember when each form of Newton’s Third Law ap- plies. We recall from Section 2.2 that the Third Law is not always valid for mov- ing charged particles; electromagnetic forces are velocity dependent. For example, magnetic forces, those forces exerted on a moving charge q in a magnetic field B (F = qv X B), obey the weak form, but not the strong form, of the Third Law. 9.2 Center of Mass Consider a system composed of n particles, with each particle’s mass described by mq, where a is an index from a = 1 to a = n. The total mass of the system is denoted by M, M= =m, (9.2) where the summation over @ (as in all summations carried out over Greek in- dices) runs from a = 1 to a = n, Such a system is displayed in Figure 9-2. If the vector connecting the origin with the ath particle is r,, then the vector defining the position of the system’s center of mass is 1 R= mare (9.3)330 9 / DYNAMICS OF A SYSTEM OF PARTICLES. FIGURE 92. The position vectors to particles 1, 2, and 3 in the body are indicated, along with the center of mass position vector R. For a continuous distribution of mass, the summation is replaced by an integral, R=2 [ram (9.4) The location of the center of mass of a body is uniquely defined, but the position vector R depends on the coordinate system chosen. If the origin in Figure 9-2 were chosen elsewhere, the vector R would be different. kz +27©& ©. Find the center of mass of a solid hemisphere of constant density. Solution. Let the density be p, the hemispherical mass be M, and the radius be a. M 28 We want to choose the origin of our coordinate system carefully (Figure 9-3) to make the problem as simple as possible. The position coordinates of Rare (X, ¥, Z). From symmetry, X = 0, Z = 0. This should be obvious from Equation 9.4,