Lagrangian in classical mechanics

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ghery
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Hello:

In Classical mechanics, the lagrangian of a system is defined as the kinetic energy minus the potential energy, but is there any physical meaning of the lagrangian ?, and if there is, What is it?

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What do you mean by physical meaning?
The Lagrangian specifies the physics content of the system, it determines the dynamical evolution of the system.

That's pretty much the definition as I've seen it. Would a visual analogy work better...I'm not sure if I'll do any benefit for you there. lol