Recent content by john8197

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    Graduate Why does Isotropy of L imply L(v^2)?

    I'm reading the first edition of Mechanics by Landau et al, published in 1960. Just before equation 3.1 on page 5 it says exactly this: "Since space is isotropic, the Lagrangian must also be independent of the direction of v, and is therefore a function only of it's magnitude, i.e. of...