Recent content by SandraH

Ah I've been suffering from the age old partial vs. full derivative confusion :) Thanks again Erythro!

Ooh thank you Erythro, that's a great summary not just for this but all my Lagrange problems. I was a bit overwhelmed by pages of subtly different examples and needed just what you gave: a template for how to address a problem generally. The only thing I don't understand now is how to get a...

Homework Statement A particle of mass m moves in a potential of the form U(r) = (1/2)kr^2 k = const greater than zero 1) Determine the possible orbits r = r(theta) and show that they are closed 2) Solve the equations of motion (although it is sufficient to derive the time...

ahaaa a problem right at the beginning. I feel sheepish.. Thanks Hootenanny

Homework Statement We're required to analyse a particle moving in the potential U(x) = a/x^2 (a > 0). Setting F = U(x) and using the Newton equation F = ma, this gives rise to the DE: d2x = a/m * (1/x^2) dt^2 I can't for the life of me figure out what method to...