Overview of Classical Mechanics

Prof G Ramachandran, GVK Academy, BSK II Stage, Bangalore

1
1.1

Ideas of Space and Time

Space

We all have an intuitive idea of space. Space is defined to be the set of all
points that form the space. Though this seems circular, a better definition is
found to be lacking. You are welcome to try for a more appropriate definition.
We can represent a point in a three dimensional space by specifying three
perpendicular distances (x, y, z) with three mutually perpendicular axes, x,y
and the z axes as shown in the figure.

Such a coordinate system is referred to as the Cartesian coordinate system

named after Descartes who unified Geometry with Algebra to initiate Analytical
Geometry.
One can also specify any point by spherical polar coordinates (r, , ) related
to the Cartesian Coordniates as
x = r sin cos , y = r sin sin , z = r cos

(1)

1.2

Time

Primitive human observed that the sun rose and set in a repeated fashion. The
duration between one sun rise to the next was called a day. Soon enough, they
also noticed that the Sun seemed to stay longer during some days than others.
This lead to the idea of seasons and an year.
The pendulum was assumed to oscillate with similar periodicity everywhere on
Earth. The time period of the oscillation of the pendulum was used to measure
time.
We now have Caesium Clocks which can give us precise time measurements
regardless of our position on Earth.
Notice that the measurement of time is associated with a periodic process.

Units and Dimensions

Dimension of mass, length and time are denoted as M , L and T . For instance,
the units for mass, length and time can be chosen to be 1g, 1cm and 1s.
Dimensions of other physical quantities is written in terms of these basic dimensions. The dimension of momentum, is M LT 1 . The dimension of angular
momentum is M L2 T 1 .

vector

A vector r is a quantity which has both magnitude and direction. The magnitude is given as |r| = r. In order to provide the direction of a vector one defines
a dimensionless unit vector
r
(, )
(2)
r
We can also define dimensionless unit vectors along the positive x-axis, y-axis
and the z-axis. A vector then can be given as

r=

r = xi + yj + z k

(3)

A vector is sometimes defined as a directed line segment.

A vector can also be defined through its components. i.e. One can define the
vector as a set of components. For instance, one can say (x, y, z) is a vector.
On vectors defined as those quantities with magnitude and direction, a parallelogram law of addition is introduced. Addition of two vectors OA and OB
is shown in the figure.

One can see this as a triangular law of addition if OA and BC are equivalent
and OB and AC are equivalent. The triangular law of addition is more intuitive
because one can think of the vector carrying a point O to C. Vector in Latin is
something that carries. However with such an equivalence between vectors that
are on the opposite sides of a parallelogram, a vector is no longer a directed
line segment. It has magnitude and direction but can be shifted parallelly and
thus has no location. Thus the idea of a vector as a directed line segment
and as a quantity that has both magnitude and direction are different ones.
For instance, one can only write a position vector as a directed line segment,
starting at the origin and ending at the point under consideration. However the
velocity vector defined as v = m dr
dt exists at a point and can not be written
as directed line segment. One does not know where to start and where to end.
Some authors distinguish between fixed vectors that are directed line segments
and free vectors, those that can be shifted parallelly. To distinguish between
~
these ideas we can denote the vectors with both magnitude and direction as A
for some quantity A, vectors given in terms of components as A and vector as a
~ For instance, ~r = xi + yj + z k,
r = (x, y, z) and ~r is
directed line segment as A.
the directed line segment starrting at the origin and ending at the point under
consideration.

Frames of reference

Prior to Newton, people thought that one needed to apply some force in order
to move an object. The heavier the object was, harder it was to move. However
Newton observed that he could look at an object, at rest on Eart, while he is
moving. With respect to them, the object would be moving. i.e. In the rest
frame of the person, the object is moving. Thus, the idea of a rest frame came
into being. An inertial frame is the one in which the three laws of Newton hold.
He observed that the motion of the planets and those of earthly objects could
be explained similarly, if one considered that an object at rest is equivalent to
an object at uniform velocity in some frame of reference. Thus he elivated this
concept of inertia to the status of a law and not as a special case of his Second
Law of Motion.

Newtons laws of motion

Newtons First law states that in a inertial frame, a free partcle continues to be
at rest or at uniform motion unless an eexternal force is applied on it.
3

For a particle of mass m and with a position vector ~r with respect to some
~ be the force acting on it. Then, Newtons second law of motion
origin. Let F
states that in an inertial frame,
2

~ = m d ~r
F
dt2

(4)

If we consider two particles with mass M1 and M2 . With respect to some origin,
let the position of the two particles be r~1 and r~2 respectively. If F~1 is the force
acting on M1 due to M2 and F~2 be the force acting on M2 due to M1 , then
2

~ 1 = M1 d ~r1
F
dt2
2
~ 2 = M2 d ~r2
F
dt2

(5)
(6)

Newtons third law of motion then states that

~1 +F
~2 = 0
F

(7)

Symmetry and Transformation

When we choose a coordinate system, we have a choice of the origin and choice
of an axis. Any point is as good as another. That is one can choose any point
as the origin as no point is preferred over the other. One also has a choice of the
axis. For instance, on some point on Earth, we can choose East and West as the
postive and the negative x-axis, North and South as the positive and negative
y-axis, Up and down as the positive and negative z-axis. However, if a person
at some other point on Earth makes a similar construction, his z-axis is not
perpendicular to this z axis. Therefore, one has the freedom to make a choice
of the axis. There is nothing sacrosanct about the above construction of the
coordinate axes. Any direction is as good as any other. Therefore, any direction
can be chosen as the z-axis. Thus there can be different choices for setting up
a coordinate system. Hence we should know how to transform from one such
coordinate system to another. Transformations of the coordinate system are
classified into various categories.

6.1

Translations

If two coordinate systems S and S 0 have parallell coordinate axes, with their
origins at different points then the transformation from one coordinate system
to another is called a translation. Let ~a be the position vector of the origin of
S 0 with respect to S,constant in time, then the Cartesian coordniates (x0 , y 0 , z 0 )
in S 0 is related to (x, y, z) in S by
x0 = x ax

(8)

(9)

(10)

y = y ay
z = z az
where ax , ay , az are the cartesian coordinates of the vector a.
4

6.2

Galilean Transformations

Suppose ~a is not a constant vector but varies constantly with respect to time,
~ Then we have a Galilean transformation. Let us say, ~v is parallell
i.e.~a = Vt.
to x-axis, then the transformation is given as
x0 = x tVx
0

y = y, z = z

(11)
(12)

With these transformations, for a particle moving along the x-direction in S

with a velocity v has a veloctiy v 0 along x0 in S 0 given by
v0 =

dx0
dx
=
V =vV
dt
dt

(13)

The above formula is known as the Galilean velocity addition. In such a velocity
addition, if light has a velocity c along x in S, its velocity in S 0 is c0 = c V
along x0 . But the Michelson-Morley experiment showed that c0 6= c V . This
lead to the introspection of velocity addition which lead to the special theory of
relativity. We may return to the theory of relativity sometime later.

Other formulations of mechanics

Formulations other than the Newtonian formulation have been introduced and
used widely in the recent years. Lagrangean and Hamiltonian formulation,
HHamilton-Jacobi equation are the ones often used. We show here that in
essence, various formulations of classical mechanics, contain the same physics.
One can go to other formulation than Newtonian formulation to study the motion of particles on curved surfaces, particles under constraints etc. but no new
physics is involved. Let us see this in the case of motion of an unconstrained
particle.
~ the
For a particle of mass m, momentum ~p, under the infulence of a Force F,
equation of motion is given as
~ = d~p
F
(14)
dt
The Kinetic Energy of the particle is given as
T =

1
p2
mv 2 =
2
2m

(15)

The potential V is defined such that

~ = V
F

(16)

. We can define an operator v = i +j + k
where = ix
+jy
+k
z
vx
vy
vz
so that
v T = mv = p
(17)

But

dp
dt

= V . Therefore,
dv T
= V
dt

(18)

But the potential V V (x, y, z) is only a function of the position coordinates.

Kinetic Energy T = 12 mv 2 is independent of position coordinates. Therfore
v V = 0

(19)

T = 0

(20)

Therefore, we can write (18) as

d(v (T V ))
= (T V )
dt

(21)

We can define a quantity L = T V as the Lagrangian such that

dv L
= V
dt

(22)

In more general terms this is written as

d L
L
=
qi
dt qi

(23)

where qi are the generalized coordinates of the system. This equation is known
as the Euler-Lagrange equation.
L
We can define a quantity pi = q
as a momentum which is said to be canonically
i
~ = V = dpi which leads to
conjugate to qi . We have F
dt

pi =

H
qi

(24)

P
where H = i qi pi L = T + V . Also, we have the Kinetic energy given by
p2
which leads to
T = 2m
p
p T =
(25)
m
But p = mv. Therefore, we get
qi =

H
pi

(26)

In obtaining (24) and (26) we have used (20). These equations are known as
the Hamiltons equation of motion.
We can solve a given problem via any of the equations of motion we have
6

studied. However, for the motion of a particle, we need twol conidtions. The
initial position alone wont suffice. For the same intial position, with different
initial velocities the motion is different.We can write the Newtons second law
of motion as
~ = m d~v
F
(27)
dt
We can solve this equation, with an inital velocity and obtain ~v as a function
r
of time. Such a solution is known as Hodograph. We can then take ~v = d~
dt to
obtain ~r as a function of time. Such a solution is known as the trajectory. If
one takes initial position and intial velocity as the initial conditions, it is known
as the Cauchy condition. One can also take
2

~ = m d ~r
(28)
F
dt2
and solve this using an initial position and a final position. Such a condition is
known as the Neumann boundary condition. Or we can take the initial position
and final velocity, this is known as the Dirchlet condition.

The Hamilton-Jacobi Equation

We have now seen how one obtains a trajectory for a given problem.i.e. ~r as a
function of time. However, there are other quantities of interest such as angular
momentum. Angular momentum is defined as moment of momentum. We can
take clue from Moment of Force to understand this concept. From ancient times,
we have known through construction of buildings that it is not enough if the
total Force is zero at every point for a construction to be stable. Total moment
of Momentum should also be equal to zero. The moment of Force of a particle
with position vector ~r with respect to some origin is defined as
~ = ~r F
~
T

(29)

~ is the force acting on the particle. Angular momentum is defined

where F
similarly as
~ = ~r ~p
L
(30)
where ~p is the momentum of the particle. Note that angular momentum is
defined with respect to some origin.
In roder to study the change of angular mometum and any such observable with
time, let us say we have an observable O(qi , pi , t). Then,
dO(qi , pi , t)
O X O dqi
O dqi
=
+
[
+
]
(31)
dt
t
q
dt
qi dt
i
i
By using the Hamiltons equation of motion, we get
dO(qi , pi , t)
O X O H
O H
=
+
[

]
dt
t
q
p
qi qi
i
i
i

(32)

We can write this in a concise way as

dO(qi , pi , t)
O
=
+ [O, H]
dt
t
where [O, H] =

O H
i [ qi pi

O H
qi qi ]

is known as the Poissons bracket.

(33)