Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics

Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

LAGRANGIAN MECHANICS

In the first part of this material, we covered topics on motion of a particle and system of
particles. We also have discussed several conservation theorems for both systems therefore
have already set up the stage for the rest of classical mechanics. In previous discussions, we
formulated equations of motion of both systems using the usual Newtonian dynamics which is
applied to dynamical systems whose motion happen in a three – dimensional Euclidian space
where the usual Cartesian coordinate system is employed. However, we also consider some
situations wherein a particle is constrained to move in only one of the dimensions of Euclidian
space (or on one of its region). Such systems are said to be constrained. In such situations, the
influence of forces that give rise to the constraints of motion must be included in the equations
of motion. In this part of the material we will show how the equations of motions of particles are
written with considerations on the constraints of motion. Such equations of motion are called
Lagrange Equations of Motion, which is part of a bigger picture called Lagrangian dynamics. It is
however implied in this section that the Newtonian dynamics is similar to Lagrangian dynamics
with some exceptions of being general and applicable to a lot of problems. We start with the
concept of constraints.

Constraints
In understanding concepts of constraints and succeeding topics, we change our
coordinate system from Cartesian to other coordinate systems which are chosen such that they
depend on the dynamical system on which they will be used. These new coordinates will be
called generalized coordinates. We start the concept of a constraint with an example. Consider
a rolling sphere on a curved surface under the influence of gravity. Imagine this sphere to be
made up of small spheres whose motions are correlated in such a way that they form a rigid
bigger sphere. These small spheres maintain a condition that being a part of a rigid body, at
least one of them is in contact with the surface as the rigid bigger sphere is rolling, and these
spheres must be at rest relative to other small spheres. In terms of the forces, there are several
of them in this system. First is the internal forces between particles making up the rigid body,
second is the force exerted by the surface on the rigid sphere to keep it rolling on the surface
and to keep it from sliding and the third force is gravity. All forces in the system are unknown
except gravity. What we know for now is that the force of gravity and the forces of constraints
make the object roll on the surface. It can then be thought that in order to describe the motion of
Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

an object, we must first find the forces constraining the motion. However, the truth is we can get
the equations of motion when we know the force of gravity and the geometric constraints of the
system. The forces of constraints can then be calculated when we know the equations of
motion.

Constraint Equations
The motion of the system is often constrained with external factors that exert unknown forces
with known effects on the system such as the geometry. If the system of interest consists of N
number of particles and there is a set of K equations of constraints involve in its motion. These
equations are written as
 
f I ( x1 ,.,.,., x N , t )  0, I  1,2,...K  3N (2.a)

Where f I depends x which are the position vectors on N particles and time. f I will be assumed
differentiable with respect to its arguments and its dependence with time describes how the
constraints change with time which is independent of the motion of the system (e.g. the surface

is rotating about some axis while the ball is rolling on its top) Constraints that can be described

using Eq. (2.a) are said to be holonomic (meaning, integrable from Greek). In general
constraints don’t only depend on position; rather they can also be functions of velocity. Then Eq.
(2.a) takes its general form

    I  1,2,...K  3N
f I ( x1 ,.,.,., x N , x1 ,..., x N t )  0, (2.a.1)

There are some constraints that seem to be velocity dependent but they are actually differential
equations which can be integrated to get simple holonomic constraints. If this is not the case,

these constraints are said to be nonholonomic. There are also cases wherein the constraints
cannot be expressed as equations or given by inequalities
    (2.a.2)
f I ( x1 ,.,.,., x N , x1 ,..., x N t )  0, I  1,2,...K  3N

Such systems will not be treated in this material; we will deal only with systems that have

holonomic constraints.
Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

Constraints and Work (As Example)

Consider a particle constraint to move on a two dimensional surface (see figure 4) of equation

f ( x, t )  0 (2.b)

Path of the particle

particle


Surface f ( x, t )  0

Figure 4 A particle in 3D space constrained to move

on a 2D surface

In this situation, N = 1 (single particle) and K =1(one constraint equation).

Using Newtonian dynamics, the equations of motion of the particle is

    
mx  F x, x , t   C
(2.b.1)

Eq.(2.b) is actually a set of three equations for its three components and therefore our system
consists of 4 equations. These four equations however are still insufficient to describe the

motion of the particle. The constraint force C can be a sum of several constraint forces such as

friction that are parallel to the surface. These forces can accelerate and the particle and also

constrain it. To eliminate these forces, we restrict our constraint force C to be perpendicular to
   
the surface by getting the gradient of f ( x , t ) (assuming that f ( x , t ) = constant). f ( x , t ) is
 
perpendicular to the surface provided that f ( x, t )  0 . We have to remember that Eq. (2.b) still
holds true for this problem and therefore we must write the constraint in such a way that
 
Eq.(2.b) is satisfied and f ( x, t )  0 . An example situation is a particle constrained by two
      
equations f1 x   s  x  0 and f 2 x   s  x   0 . But on that plane, f1  s while f 2  0
2
Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

therefore only f 1 is acceptable. The constraint force’s direction now is normal to the surface
(normal force) and can be written as

   (2.b.2)
n  C  f x, t 

where  is a number, which can be a function of time. We assume that the external force is
 
expressible in terms of potential, F  V x, t  (note that potential has time dependence), we
can then rewrite Eq. (2.b.1) as

    
mx  F x , x , t   C (2.b.3)
  
mx  V x , t   f x , t 

If we then take a dot product of both sides of Eq. (2.b.3) with velocity we have

mx x  V x, t   x  f x, t   x (2.b.4)

d 1 2    
 mx   V x , t   x  f x , t   x
dt  2 

We assume that x t  is a solution to the equations of motion. However, we said earlier that the

particle remains on the surface f x t , t   0 and therefore,
df
 0 . But
dt

  f
 f x , t   x 
df
(2.b.5)
dt t
  V
 V x , t   x 
dV (2.b.6)
dt t

   
We can then rearrange Eqs.(2.b.5 & 6) and solve for f x, t   x and V x, t   x we have

  df f
f  x , t   x  
dt t
  dV V (2.b.7)
V x , t   x  
dt t
Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

and substitute them into Eq. (2.b.4) we have

d 1 2    
 mx   V  x , t   x  f  x , t   x
dt  2 
d 1 2  dV V   df f 
 mx         
dt  2   dt t   dt t 
d  1 2  V dV f
 mx    
dt  2  t dt t
d  1 2  dV V f
 mx    
dt  2  dt t t
d 1 2  V f
 mx  V   
dt  2  t t (2.b.8)
dE V f
  (2.b.9)
dt t t

The left hand side of Eq.(2.b.8) is equal to the total energy of the system (particle and surface)

as in Eq. (2.b.9) which tells us that the total energy of the system changes as the potential

changes through time (remember its dependence on t) and also when the surface is moving

(changes state through time). All throughout this material, we will only consider position

dependent potentials (not a function of time) and therefore, the energy will change if and only if
the surface is dependent on time. There are some useful examples in standard text books; the
figures below help to visualize more how one can calculate constraints of motion

Figure 5. (A) When a box moves on an incline surface, the equation of constraint is y  ax  b which is clearly
an equation of a line. (B) In a physical pendulum which is allowed to move on the xy-plane, the equation of
constraint is x 2  y 2  l 2 which as we all know an equation of circle.
 Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

These equations of constraints oftentimes can be expressed as manifolds or more accurately,

configuration manifolds* which tells the topology (shape) of the system.

D’Alembert’s Principle and Virtual Work

We are now ready to tackle D’Alembert’s Principle and the concept of virtual work. Consider a
system composed of a block moving on an inclined surface (see figure 6). There are two forces
on the system; the force of gravity (which makes the block move/slide) and the normal force

which is perpendicular to the surface (a force of constraint) which makes the block stay on the
surface. If we consider this problem to be two dimensional, we will have four unknowns to

solve; i.e. the horizontal (x) position, vertical (y) position and the x and y components of the

normal force.

If we want to know the work done exerted by the total force on the

system, this work done will only be due to the force of gravity; work

done of the normal force being perpendicular to the surface is

zero. However, we can also look this situation in another

Figure 6. A block on an inclined

perspective. We can think that since the force of constraint is
surface
perpendicular to the surface, it has components which can do

work on the block. This because those components namely Nx and Ny also have components
which lie along the motion of the block with equal magnitudes but opposite in direction (this can

be proven using simple geometry and free body diagrams in elementary physics). Now we
consider a system of two particles joined together by a rigid but very thin rod (figure 7).

In figure seven, the two interacting particles are exerting equal but

opposite forces on each other. These two forces can be

considered as forces of constraint (which keeps the state of the

Figure 7. Two particle
interactions particles). While these force may do work individually on the
system, the sum of their works done will be equal to zero. Both translational and rotational
displacements of the system (Fig 7) will generate a zero work done (for translational, two forces

*See Classical Mechanics: A contemporary Approach by Jose et al

Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

are equal but opposite, for rotational, both forces of constraint are perpendicular to the
displacement). That is, the net work due to constraint forces on this system is

    (2.c)
W  F1  r1  F2  r2  0

It is simple at this stage to say that “the net work done by all forces of constraint is zero”.
However, this is not always the case. There are some situations that the forces of constraint do
work on the system. This happens when the equation of constraint is time dependent (meaning,

the block is moving, or the rod’s length changes through time). In this material however, we

cover only systems in equilibrium; i.e. the individual forces acting on the particles Fi  0 . Then

clearly the dot product of these forces with the virtual displacements r of the particles is also

zero. Also, we assume that the surface is time independent; hence, the net virtual work done of

the constraint forces is equal to zero. If we take the dot product of these forces with the virtual
displacement, we get
 
W   Fi  ri  0 (2.c.1)
i

Then we expand the sum in (2.c.1) in terms of the constraint forces and applied forces, we get
     
W   Fi  ri   F ap  ri   Fi c  ri  0
i
(2.c.2)
i i i

Then we consider only systems with time independent equations of constraint we have

  (2.c.3)
W   F ap  ri  0 i
i

Equation (2.c.3) tells us that the net virtual work of all external forces on the particles with virtual

displacements ri is equal to zero. This statement is called the principle of virtual work. We must

remember however that ri are connected with the forces of constraint and they are not

independent. In this case, we cannot set Fi ap  0 . Therefore, there is a need for us to express

ri into generalized coordinates which are independent of any force. Equation (2.c.3) deals only
with statics but we need something which is more general. The equation of motion for a system

of particle is
 
Fi  p i (2.d)
Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

We can rewrite (2.d) as

 
Fi  p i  0

We can interpret (2.d) as the state of the particles will be in equilibrium if the force acting on the

system is equal to the force applied plus the “effective reversed “force p i If we take the don

product of these forces with our virtual displacement we get


 F  p  r
 
i i i 0 (2.d.1)
i

If we expand the forces into the force applied and constraint force, we get

 F 
 ap   
i  f i  p i  ri  0
i
 ap     
F
i
i  ri   p i  ri   f i  ri  0
i i
i

but
 
f
i
i  ri  0

therefore
 
  
 Fi ap  p i  ri  0
i
D’Alembert’s Principle (2.d.2)

We need to express our virtual displacements in terms of the generalized coordinates using the
transformation

  (2.d.3)
ri  ri (q1 , q2 ,..., qn , t )

If we take the derivative of (2.d.3) to get the velocity (using chain rule) we have

  
ri  ri q k  ri 
      vi
dt k  q k t  t
 
 ri ri
vi  q k  (2.d.4)
q k t
Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

Using similar arguments, we can express our virtual displacement as a variation of coordinates
(not with time)


 ri
ri  q j (2.d.5)
q j

Let’s get the dot product of (2.d.5) with the sum of forces to get its virtual work

    ri 
i Fi  ri   Fi  
 q
qj 

i, j  j 
  (2.d.6)
 Fi  ri   Q j q j
i j

where Q j is called the generalized force (not necessarily having a unit of force) and q j is the

generalized displacement (not necessarily having a unit of length). The generalized force is
defined as

 r
Q j   Fi  i (2.d.7)
i q j

Equation (2.d.5) must have a unit of work even though Q j does not always have a unit of force

and q j of length. For example, the generalized force can have a unit of torque and q j may be

thought as some virtual angular displacement, (2.d.6) still has the unit of work.

From (2.d.2) we can get the virtual work done of the effective reversed force as

   
 p
i
i  ri  mi ri  ri
 d  
 ri 
i pi  ri  i mi ri  q q j   dt i mi ri  qi q j
   
 r (2.d.8)
j  j 

recall :
  
d   ri   d  ri  ri d 
dt  i
 mi ri    mi ri 
q j  i
   mi ri
dt  q j  q j dt i
  
d   ri  d  ri  d  ri 
dt  i
 mi ri  q   dt i mi ri  q  i mi ri  dt  q  (2.d.9)
j  j  j
Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

Therefore from (2.d.8) we have

  
d  ri d   ri   d  ri 
 mi ri  q  dt  i mi ri  q   i mi ri  dt  q
dt i


(2.d.10)
j  j   j 

Substituting this to (2.d.7) we have

 d 
 ri  ri 
 
 
i pi  ri  i mi ri  q q j   dt i mi ri  q q j
 
j  j 

 
  d   r   d  r 
i p i  ri   dt  i mi ri  qi   i mi ri  dt  qi q j (2.d.11)
  j   j 

However, we can interchange in the last term in (2.d.9) the differentiation as

  d  ri q k  ri  q k q k  ri

d  ri    
dt  q j  dt  q q  q t q
  k j  k j q j t q k
  
d  ri 
    ri q k  q k  ri
dt  q j  k q q t
 k j q j q k t
 2 2
d  ri 
    ri q k  1  ri
dt  q j  k q q
 k j q j t
  vi
d  ri  (2.d.12)
dt  q j  q
 j

If we take the derivative of (2.d.4) with respect to q k and change the index from k to j we have

  
vi   ri r 
 q j  i 
q j q j  q j t 
 
vi ri

q j q j (2.d.13)

We substitute (2.d.12) and (2.d.13) into (2.d.11) we get

Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose
 
   d   vi   vi 
i i i  dt  i i i q  i i i q q j
p  r  m r   m r 
  j  
j 

 
   d   vi   vi 
i i i  dt  i i i q  i i i q q j
p  r  m v   m v 
  j  j 

  d   1    1 
 p  ri      mi vi2      mi vi2 q j (2.d.14)
 dt  q j  2 i   q j  2 i
i
i 

We then substitute (2.d.14) and (2.d.6) in our D’Alembert’s Principle (2.d.2) we will get

 F
 ap
 p i   ri  0
 
i
i

 F
 ap
 p i   ri   Fi  ri   p i  ri  0
     
i
i i i

 d    1    1  
 F
 ap
 p i   ri   Q j q j   
 
  mi vi2      mi vi2 q j   0
   q j  2 i
 dt  q j  2 i
i
i j  
d   1    1  
 F  p i   ri    
 ap  
  mi vi2      mi vi2   Q j q j  0
i   2 i
j  dt  q   q j  2 i 
i
 j 
d   1    1    d  T  T 
     mi vi2      mi vi2   Q j q j       Q j q j  0 (2.d.15)
 dt  q j  2 i
j    q j  2 i    dt  q j
j 
 q
 j 

We have expressed (2.d.15) in terms of the kinetic energy and the generalized force and since
q j refers to the generalized virtual displacement, and cannot be taken zero, the only way to
satisfy (2.d.15) is to set its coefficient equal to zero.

d  T  T

  Qj  0
dt  q j  q
 j

d  T  T

  Q j (2.d.16)
dt  q j  q
 j

If we can express the generalized force in terms of a gradient of some potential function (like
before)

 V j
Q j   jV j   (2.d.17)
q j
Physics Comprehensive Exam Reviewer (PCER) Part 1: Classical Mechanics
Goldstein, Marion and Thornton, Jose

We then substitute this into (2.d.16) we get

d  T  T

 V j 
    
dt  q j  q
 j
 q
 j


d  T  T V j

  0
dt  q j  q
 j q j

d  T   T  V 
  0
dt  q j 
 q j
(2.d.18)

Since the potential doesn’t depend on velocity, we can include it in the first term of (2.d.18) and
we get

d   T  V    T  V 
  0
dt  q j  q j

d  L  L

 0
dt  q j  q
 j

or
L d  L 
0

q j dt  q j 
 (2.d.19)

Where L  T  V is called the Lagrangian and (2.d.19) is called the Lagrange Equations of
Motion. We will consider several situations wherein Lagrange equations are applied in the next
section.

References

1. Goldstein, et al,. Classical Mechanics

2. Jose, et al., Classical Mechanics: A contemporary approach

3. Marion & Thornton., Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems