Recent content by polytheneman

Thank you for your help! I believe I understand this subject better now.

On the other hand, this fella is arguing that the whole problem arises from the unnecessary assumption that virtual displacements have to be perpendicular to constraint forces: arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0011004.pdf

The author of the excellent book where I found this problem (The Lazy Universe) explains in another part of the book: I feel this is the answer to my question, but I can't say I understand how this translates to the Atwood machine problem. This is my guess: The important thing is not to...

Thank you for replying! I apologize, but I had a little trouble visualizing what you meant (I'm self-learning), particularly the part about both masses moving in the same direction. Would you say that from what you have stated here one can conclude that the tension forces of the wire can be...

From what I understand, constraint forces do no work because they are perpendicular to the allowed virtual displacements of the system. However, if you consider an unbalanced Atwood machine, in which both masses are accelerating in opposite directions, you'll find that the tension force of the...

Thank you very much!

I'm reading a book on Classical Mechanics (No Nonsense Classical Mechanics) and one particular section has me a bit puzzled. The author is using the Euler-Lagrange equation to calculate the equation of motion for a system which has the Lagrangian shown in figure 1. The process can be seen in...

Hey! I'm a medical doctor studying physics as a hobby. I have taught myself calculus and I am currently learning Classical Mechanics.