PHY6426/Fall 07: CLASSICAL MECHANICS FINAL EXAM: SOLUTIONS Instructor: D. L. Maslov maslov@phys.u.edu 392-0513 Rm.

2114
Total points: 120

Problem 1 A pendulum consists of a uniform rigid rod of length L, mass M, and of a snail of mass M/3 which can crawl along the rod (Fig.1turn the page over). The rod is pivoted at one end and swings in a vertical plane. Initially, the snail is at the pivot-end of the rod and then it crawls slowly with constant speed v along the rod towards the bottom end of the rod. Assume that the snail can be treated as a point mass. a) Construct the Lagrangian for the rod-snail system and derive the equations of motion. [ 20 points] When the snail has crawled distance , the moment of inertia is I= Lagrangian L= E.o.m. L d L = dt 1 1 d I = M gL sin M g sin dt 2 3 dI L . I + = M g + dt 2 3 dI 2 = M dt 3 +2 2+ L
3 2L + . L2 + 2

1 1 M L2 + M 2 . 3 3

I 2 M v2 1 1 + + M gL cos + M g cos . 2 6 2 3

= g sin

b) Find the frequency of small oscillations of the pendulum when the bug has crawled a distance along the rod. Assume that the snail crawls so slowly that the change in over the period of oscillations can be neglected (that is, discard the term in the equation and treat as a constant). [20 points] Neglecting the term containing and expanding sin , we obtain
3 L+ = g 2 2 L + 2

and = g
3 2L + L2 + 2

Problem 2 Consider a damped linear oscillator described by the following equation of motion q + 2 q + 2 q = 0. (1)

2 a) Assuming the Lagrangian of this system can be written as L = f (t) 1 2 1 mq m 2 q 2 , 2 2 (2)

nd such a function f (t) that the Euler equation reproduces the equation of motion (1). To dene f (t) uniquely, assume that f (0) = 1. [10 points] d L L = dt q q d (f (t) mq) = f (t) m 2 q dt fmq + f m = f (t) m 2 q q f q + q = 2 q. f The e.o.m. is reproduced, if f = 2. f Solving this equation with the initial condition f (0) = 1, we obtain f (t) = exp (2t) . b) Construct the Hamiltonian H (q, p) using the Lagrangian from Eq. (2) with f (t) found in part a). [15 points] p = L = f (t) mq q p . q = mf (t)

The Hamiltonian H = qp L = p2 1 + f (t) m 2 q 2 2mf (t) 2 1 p2 + e2t m 2 q 2 . = e2t 2m 2

c) For the generating function F2 (q, P, t) = exp (t) qP, nd the transformed Hamiltonian K (Q, P, t) and show that K is conserved. [15 points] F2 = et P q F2 Q = = et q P q = et Q p = K=H+ H is new variables H = e2t 1 (et P ) + e2t m 2 et Q 2m 2
2 2

F2 = H + qP et . t P2 1 + m 2 Q2 2m 2

3 K = P2 1 + m 2 Q2 + et Q P et 2m 2 P2 1 = + m 2 Q2 + QP. 2m 2

K does not depend on time and is, therefore, conserved. Problem 3 A non-linear oscillator has a potential given by V (x) = 1 2 kx mx3 , 2 3

where is a small parameter. Find the solution of the equation of motion to rst order in , assuming that x (0) = 0 and x (0) = v0 . [40 points] Hint: apply the initial conditions at each step of the perturbation theory. E.o.m.
2 x + 0 x = x2 , 2 where 0 = k/m. Perturbation theory

x = x0 + x1 , where x0 = A cos t+B sin t. To zeroth order in , substitute x = x0 into the e.o.m. and neglect the non-linear term:
2 2 A 2 cos t + A0 cos t B 2 sin t + B0 sin t = 0 = 0 .

Taking into account the initial conditions, x0 = v0 sin 0 t. 0

To rst order in , keep only the x2 term in the RHS of the e.o.m. 0
2 x1 + 0 x1 = x2 = 0

v0 0

sin2 0 t =

1 2

v0 0

1 2

v0 0

cos 20 t.

A general solution of the inhomogeneous linear dierential equation is a sum of a fundamental solution of the homogeneous equation and a particular solution of the inhomogeneous equation: x 1 = xf + xp . A fundamental solution xf = D cos 0 t + E sin 0 t. We can look for a particular solution of the following form xp = F + G cos 20 t. Substuting back into the equation, we nd F = 2 20 v0 0 v0 0 v0 0 v0 0
2

1 2 2 4G0 cos 20 t + G0 cos 20 t = 2 1 2 3G0 cos 20 t = 2 G = 2 60

cos 20 t.
2

cos 20 t.
2

snail l L

FIG. 1:
2 2

x1 = D cos 0 t + E sin 0 t + x1 (0) = 0 D + D = 2 2 30 2 20

2

2 20 2 60

v0 0 v0 0

+
2

2 60

v0 0

cos 20 t

v0 0

=0

v0 0

The zeroth order solution already satises the initial condition x0 (0) = v0 . Therefore, the rst-order correction must satisfy x1 (0) = 0, which gives E = 0. Finally, x1 (t) = 2 2 30 v0 0
2

cos 0 t +

2 20

v0 0

2 60

v0 0

cos 20 t