Second order spring mass problem

cue928
Messages
129
Reaction score
0
I am doing a spring mass problem. Unfortunately, I'm not proficient in Tex so this won't be as neat as it could be.
Data: m1=1, m2=1; k1=0, k2=2, k3=0
Stiffness matrix:
-(k1+k2) k2
k2 -(k2+k3)

1 0 * x1'' -2 2 * x1
0 1 x2'' = 2 -2 x2

From that, I get the following equations:
x1'' = -2x1 + 2x1
x2'' = 2x2 - 2x2

I then generate the following matrix:
<br /> \begin{bmatrix} -2-\lambda &amp; 2\\2 &amp; -2-\lambda\end{bmatrix}<br />
Using x for lambda:
(-2-x)^2 - 4
x^2 + 4x = 0
I get r = +/- 2i, but according to the book I should get frequencies of 0 and 2 [ (omega)^2 = -lamdbda)

Where did I go wrong? I verified that I wrote it down correctly from the book but I still don't see it. All other problems on this section make sense.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Greetings! Check your solving of λ2 + 4λ = λ(λ+4) = 0. Now just use angular ω = -λ2 to find the angular frequency.
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
Back
Top