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a F
Ways of writing vector notation
y
x
r
z
x axis
y axis
z axis
z y x , ,
z y x r z y x + + =
) , , ( z y x = r
) , , (
z y x
v v v = v ) , , (
z y x
a a a = a
August 31, 2010
Other Vector Notations
You will be used to unit vector notation i, j, k, but we will follow the text
and use the notation.
At times, it is more convenient to use notation that makes it easier to
use summation notation, so we introduce the equivalents:
which allows us to write
In the above example, this form has no real advantage, but in other
cases we will meet, this form is much simpler to use. The point is that
we may choose any convenient notation, and you should become
tolerant of different, but consistent forms of notation.
z y x , ,
z e y e x e , ,
, ,
3 2 1
3 2 1
= = =
= = = z r y r x r
=
= + + =
3
1
3 3 2 2 1 1
i
i i
r r r r e e e e r
August 31, 2010
Vector Operations
Sum of vectors
Vector times scalar
Scalar product, or dot product
Vector product, or cross product
) , , ( ; ) , , (
3 2 1 3 2 1
s s s r r r = = s r
) , , (
3 3 2 2 1 1
s r s r s r + + + = +s r
) , , (
3 2 1
cr cr cr c = r
cos
3
1
3 3 2 2 1 1
=
= + + =
=
n
n n
s r s r s r s r
rs u s r
u
r
s
u sin ; rs = = s r s r p
x y y x z
z x x z y
y z z y x
s r s r p
s r s r p
s r s r p
=
=
=
z y x
z y x
z y x
z y x
s s s
r r r
s s s
r r r
z y x z y x
s r
det =
(
(
(
=
August 31, 2010
In the main chapter, just after equation (1.7), there is a note that says
see Problem 1.7 at the end of the chapter for a proof that
Problem 1.7 says:
Prove that the two definitions of the scalar product are equal. One
way to do this is to choose your x axis along the direction of r.
[Strictly speaking you should first make sure that the definition (1.7)
is independent of the choice of axes. If you like to worry about such
niceties, see Problem 1.16.]
This example shows that the problems are part of the texteven
problems that are not assigned. Many of the problems guide you to
further learning, and you are encouraged to try some of them.
With r along x, we have
Uses the fact that we are free to choose our axes without changing the
result. But what about Problem 1.16?
Fundamental Nature of the
End-of-Chapter Problems
cos
3
1
3 3 2 2 1 1
=
= + + =
n
n n
s r s r s r s r rs u
u u cos 0 0 cos
3 3 2 2 1 1
rs rs s r s r s r = + + = + + = s r
u
r
s
x
y
) 0 , sin , cos ( ) 0 , , ( ); 0 , 0 , ( u u s s s s r
y x
= = = s r
August 31, 2010
Problem 1.16
(a) Defining the scalar product by Equation (1.7),
show that Pythagorass theorem implies that the magnitude of any vector
.
(b) It is clear that the length of a vector does not depend on our choice of
coordinate axes. Thus, the result of part (a) guarantees that the scalar
product , as defined by (1.7), is the same for any choice of orthogonal
axes. Use this to prove that as defined by (1.7), is the same for any
choice of orthogonal axes. [Hint: Consider the length of the vector ].
s r
3
1
=
=
n
n n
s r s r
r r r = r is
r r
s r
s r+
Thm) s s' (Pythagora
2
3
2
2
2
1
r r r r + + =
3 3
2 2 2 2
1 2 3
1 1
n n n
n n
r r r r r r
= =
= = = + +
r r
) ( 2 ) ( ) (
2 2
2
s r s r s r s r + + = + = + + s r
( ) 2 /
2 2
2
s r + = s r s r
Everything on the right is a length (squared), which is the same for any
choice of axis, so the same is true of . s r
August 31, 2010
Lesson About the Problems
I cannot stress enough that doing problems is going to allow you to learn
10 times more than just reading the book. In the last problem, for
example, we learned how to distribute dot products, how to express the
length of a vector in terms of its dot product with itself, and generally how
to deal with proofs in terms of simple, easy-to-do steps.
The problems are written in a way to help you discover the answers. You
should pay attention to references in the text to the problems, and have a
look at the problems for further understanding.
The problems I assign may assume knowledge you can only gain from
following the thread from the text into the unassigned problems.
August 31, 2010
Differentiation of Vectors
This course makes heavy use of Calculus (and differential equations, and
other forms of advanced mathematics). In general, we will refresh your
memory about the techniques you will need as they come up, but we will
do so from a Physics perspectiveonly paying lip-service to the underlying
mathematical proofs.
What we need now is a simple form of something called Vector Calculus.
As long as you remember that vectors are just triplets of numbers, and
vector equations can be thought of as three separate equations, you will be
fine.
For now, consider only the derivative of the position vector r(t), which you
should know gives the velocity v(t) = dr(t)/dt. Likewise, the derivative of
the velocity (the second derivative of the position) gives the acceleration:
a(t) = dv(t)/dt = d
2
r(t)/dt
2
. Formally:
x(t) t) x(t x
t
x
dt
dx
t
A + = A
A
A
=
A
re whe lim
0
) ( ) ( re whe lim
0
t t t
t dt
d
t
r r r
r r
A + = A
A
A
=
A
for scalars:
for vectors:
August 31, 2010
Differentiation of Vectors
By the usual rules of differentiation, the derivative of a sum of vectors is
and the derivative of a scalar times a vector follows the usual product rule
Also note: so
implies that the unit vectors are constant (i.e. ).
However, we will find in other coordinate systems the unit vectors are NOT
constant!
dt
d
dt
d
dt
d s r
s r + = + ) (
r
r
r
dt
df
dt
d
f f
dt
d
+ = ) (
z y x r z y x + + = z y x
r
dt
dz
dt
dy
dt
dx
dt
d
+ + =
0
= = =
dt
d
dt
d
dt
d z y x
How can this be?
z y x v
z y x
v v v + + =
August 31, 2010
1.3 Mass and Force
What is the difference between mass and weight?
Mass has to do with inertial force (ma). Weight has to do with gravitational
force (mg). In the first case, the mass is resistance to changes in motion
while in the second case it is a rather mysterious attractive property of
matter. In fact, these two different properties of mass are identical, which
is what Galileos experiments showed (dropping masses off the leaning
tower of Pisa). But it was not understood until Einsteins theory of General
Relativity.
Inertial balance:
m
1
m
2
Allows measurement of inertial mass
without mixing in gravitational force.
Try this in the Phun Physics Engine
August 31, 2010
Point Mass (Particle)
For now, we want to focus on the concept of a point mass, or particle. This
is an approximation, which is worthwhile to look at carefully. It basically
refers to a body that can move through space but has NO internal degrees
of freedom (rotation, flexure, vibrations).
Later we will talk about bodies as collections of particles, or a continuous
distribution of mass, and in considering such bodies the laws of motion are
considerably more complicated.
Despite this being an approximation, the approximation is still useful in
many cases, such as for elementary particles (protons, neutrons, electrons),
or even planets and stars (sometimes).
August 31, 2010
1.4 Newtons Three Laws
Law of Inertia
In the absence of forces, a particle moves with constant velocity v.
(An object in motion tends to remain in motion, an object at rest tends
to remain at rest.)
Force Law
For any particle of mass m, the net force F on the particle is always
equal to the mass m times the particles acceleration: F = ma.
Conservation of Momentum Law
If particle 1 exerts a force F
21
on particle 2, then particle 2 always
exerts a reaction force F
12
on particle 1 given by F
12
= F
21
.
(For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.)
August 31, 2010
Aside: Dot Notation
Dot Notation:
We will be using this dot notation extensively. It means
differentiation with respect to time, t (only!).
You may have seen prime notation, but if the differentiation is not
with respect to time, it is NOT equivalent to y-dot.
y-dot means dy/dt only.
v
v
a = =
dt
d
r
r
= =
2
2
dt
d
y
dx
dy
y = = '
August 31, 2010
Equivalence of First Two Laws
The Law of Inertia and the Force Law can be stated in equivalent ways.
Obviously, if , then in the absence of forces
Thus, the velocity is constant (objects in motion tend to remain in motion)
and could be zero (objects at rest tend to remain at rest).
The second law can be rewritten in terms of momentum:
In Classical Mechanics, the mass of a particle is constant, hence
So we can write .
In words, forces cause a change in momentum, and conversely any change
in momentum implies that a force is acting on the particle.
a F m =
0
0
0
v v
v
a F
= =
= =
dt
d
m
v p m =
a v p m m = =
p F =
August 31, 2010
The Equation of Motion
Newtons Second Law is the basis for much of Classical Mechanics, and the
equation has another namethe equation of motion.
The typical use of the equation of motion is to write
where the right hand side lists all of the forces acting on the particle.
In this text, an even more usual way to write it is:
which is perhaps an easier way to understand why it is called the equation
of motion. This relates the position of the particle vs. time to the forces
acting on it, and obviously if we know the position at all times we have an
equation of motion for the particle.
a F m =
= Forces a m
= Forces r m
August 31, 2010
Differential Equations
Most of you should have had a course in differential equations by now, or
should be taking the course concurrently.
A differential equation is an equation involving derivatives, in this case
derivatives of the particle position r(t).
Consider the one-dimensional equation for the position x(t) of a particle
under a constant force:
This equation involves the second derivative (with respect to time) of the
position, so to get the position we simply integrate twice:
This was so easy we did not actually need to know the theory of differential
equations, but we will meet with lots of more complicated equations where
the DiffEQ theory is needed, and will be introduced as needed.
m
F
t x
0
) ( =
t
m
F
v dt t x t x
0
0
) ( ) ( + = =
}
2 0
0 0
2
) ( ) ( t
m
F
t v x dt t x t x + + = =
}
ext
ext
2
ext
1 21
ext
2 12
ext
1 2 1
21
ext
2 2 2 12
ext
1 1 1
; ;
F F F F F F F F F P
F F F p F F F p
= + = + + + = + =
+ = = + = =
0 ;
; ;
2
ext
1
ext
21
ext
2 2 2 12
ext
1 1 1
= + = =
+ = = + = =
P F F F p
F F F p F F F p
ext ext
Newtons Third Law
August 31, 2010
Multi-Particle Systems
It should be fairly obvious how to extend this to systems of N particles,
where N can be any number, including truly huge numbers like 10
23
.
Let o or | designate one of the particles. Both o and | can take any value
1, 2, , N. The net force on particle o is then
where the sum runs over all particles except o itself (a particle does not
exert a force on itself).
The total force on the system of particles is just the sum of all of the :
Each term F
o|
can be paired with F
|o
:
o
o |
o o| o
p F F F = + =
=
ext
o
p
=
o
o
p P
+ =
= o
o
o o |
o|
ext
F F P
( ) 0 = + =
> = o o |
|o o|
o o |
o|
F F F
ext ext
F F = =
o
o
August 31, 2010
Conservation of Momentum
This final result: says that the internal forces on a system of
particles do not matterthey all cancel each other, so the change in total
momentum of a system of particles is only due to external forces.
In particular, if there are no external forces, the momentum cannot change,
i.e. it is constant. This is the principle of conservation of momentum:
This is one of the most important results in classical physics, and is true
also in relativity and quantum mechanics.
It may be helpful to write out the sums from the previous slide explicitly for
3 and 4 particles (Problems 1.28 and 1.29), to convince yourself of the pair-
wise canceling of the internal forces.
We showed that Newtons 3
rd
Law implies Conservation of Momentum. You
can also show (Problem 1.31) that Conservation of Momentum implies
Newtons 3
rd
Law.
ext
F P =