GeneralizedCoordinatesForFreeMotion 2008-07-17 16:36:23 2008-07-17 16:36:23 Topic % this is the default PlanetMath preamble. as your knowledge % of TeX increases, you will probably want to edit this, but % it should be fine as is for beginners. % almost certainly you want these \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{amsfonts} % used for TeXing text within eps files %\usepackage{psfrag} % need this for including graphics (\includegraphics) %\usepackage{graphicx} % for neatly defining theorems and propositions %\usepackage{amsthm} % making logically defined graphics %\usepackage{xypic} % there are many more packages, add them here as you need them % define commands here The differential equations for the motion of a particle under any forces when we use rectangular coordinates are known from Newston's laws of motion $$ m \ddot{x} = F_x $$ $$ m \ddot{y} = F_y $$ $$ m \ddot{z} = F_z $$ where $F_x, F_y, F_z$ are the components of the actual forces on the particle resolved parallel to each of the fixed rectangular axes, or rather their equivalents $m \ddot{x}, m \ddot{y}, m \ddot{z}$, are called the \emph{effective forces} on the particle. They are of course a set of forces mechanically equivalent to the actual forces acting on the particle. The equations of motion of the particle in terms of any other system of coordinates are easily obtained. Let $q_1, q_2, q_3$, be the coordinates in question. The appropriate formulas for transformation of coordinates express $x,y,z$ in terms of $q_1,q_2,q_3$. $$ x = f_1(q_1,q_2,q_3), \,\,\, y = f_2(q_1,q_2,q_3), \,\,\, z = f_3(q_1,q_2,q_3) $$