- #1
ecastro
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Homework Statement
Given a force F(t), calculate the optimized path the particle, initially at a, should take to reach point b. Consider the particle to travel in a one - dimensional space only (x axis). The particle has kinetic energy only.
Homework Equations
L = T - U
[itex]\frac{\partial L}{\partial x_{i}} - \frac{d}{dt} \frac{\partial L}{\dot{x}_{i}} = 0[/itex]
The Attempt at a Solution
If the particle is only purely kinetic, then the first term of the equation is zero and the second term is only [itex]\frac{d}{dt} mv(t)[/itex] which implies that the velocity is constant in time. I also do not know if this will give the optimized path of the particle and how to implement it...