Lagrangian of conic pendulum-rod

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on deriving the kinetic energy of a conic pendulum-rod system, characterized by a stick of mass m and length l, pivoted at the top and swinging with angular frequency omega. The system has two degrees of freedom: theta (the angle with gravity) and phi (the angle around the vertical axis). The kinetic energy T is expressed as a function of phi-dot, theta-dot, and theta, and the user seeks clarification on the appropriate formulation using spherical coordinates. The kinetic energy formula is confirmed to depend solely on theta, theta-dot, and phi-dot.

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Homework Statement



So, basically there is a stick, mass m and length l, that is pivoted at its top end, and swings around the vertical axis with angular frequency omega. The stick always makes an angle theta with the direction of gravity. I am told there are 2 degrees of freedom (theta, phi), with phi being the angle around the 'equator' (see attached picture). Phi-dot=omega.

a) Determine the kinetic energy and show that it is given by a function of the type T(phi-dot, theta-dot, theta).

The attempt at a solution

I assume I am supposed to use spherical coordinates for theta and phi, so it should look something like:

T=\frac{1}{2}m(\dot r^2 + r^2\dot \theta^2 + r^2sin^2(\theta)(\dot \phi)^2)

But we know that the kinetic energy of the pendulum only depends on theta, theta-dot, and phi-dot. So how should it look?

Thanks for your help.
 

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