Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Curvilinear Systems,
Central Forces
Dale E. Gary
NJIT Physics Department
4.7 Curvilinear One-Dimensional
Systems
In addition to an object moving in one dimension in space, such as the
horizontal or vertical motions we have been dealing with, we can also treat
constrained motion along a curved path in terms of 1 dimension. An
example is a bead threaded onto a curved, rigid wire on which it can slide
without friction.
Such a curve can be specified in terms of its three-dimensional (x, y, z)
coordinates, which might require three separate equations, but we could
instead use a single, parametric equation, i.e. specified the bead’s
location in terms of a single parameter, say its distance s along the wire
from some origin O. With such a choice, problems can be solved as if they
were one-dimensional.
The speed (not velocity) is written s so the kinetic energy is T 12 ms
2
2
compared with 2 mx for a straight track. However, the force is a little more
1
At the equilibrium position = 0, this is just mg(r b), which is positive for r > b.
September 29, 2009
Another Example—Atwood Machine
The Atwood Machine provides another example of a system
with several moving parts that can be cast into a one-
dimensional framework. FT x
Here the pulley is massless (not essential to the problem) m1
and the cable connecting the two masses cannot stretch. FT
The position of the whole system can be determined by the m2 m1g
position x of the mass below the center of the pulley. m2g
Consider the energies of the two masses after a
displacement:
T1 U1 W1ten and T2 U 2 W2ten
where is the change in kinetic energy after the displacement, U is the
change in potential energy due to the displacement, and W1ten is the work done
during the displacement against the tension force FT.
The tension force is exactly the sametenon thetentwo masses, so the work done by
W W2 .
tension is equal and opposite, i.e. 1
September 29, 2009
Another Example—Atwood Machine
Adding the two energies, then, the work done by tension
drops out and the total change in energy is zero:
(T1 U1 T2 U 2 ) 0. FT x
In other words, the total mechanical energy m1
FT
E T1 U1 T2 U 2
is conserved. m2 m1g
It happens that many systems that contain several particles m2g
that are constrained in some way (by strings, struts, or a
track) can be treated in this way.
The constraint forces are crucially important for determining how the system
moves, but they do no work on the system, so when using energy to solve
problems we can simply ignore the constraint forces. N
For each particle , with potential energy U, the total energy E (T U )
1
is constant.
September 29, 2009
Problem 4.36
Statement of the problem, part (a):
A metal ball (mass m) with a hole through it is threaded on a frictionless vertical
rod. A massless string (length l) attached to the ball runs over a massless,
frictionless pulley and supports a block of mass M, as show in the figure. The
postions of the two masses can be specified by the one angle . (a) Write down
the potential energy U(). (The PE is given easily in terms of the heights shown as
h and H. Eliminate these two variables in favor of and the constants b and l.
Assume that the pulley and ball have negligible size.)
Solution to part (a):
The PE is just U mgh MgH . We need to write h
F(r ) f (r )rˆ
where f(r) gives the magnitude of the force as a function of position r.
Examples are the Coulomb force and the gravitational force
kQq GMm
F(r ) 2 rˆ , F (r ) 2 rˆ.
r r
These forces have two properties not necessarily shared by all central forces:
1) they are conservative, and 2) they are spherically symmetric (or
rotationally invariant). That is, the magnitude of the force does not depend
on the direction of r, but depends only on the magnitude of r, i.e. f (r ) f (r ).
What is remarkable is that, for central forces, these two conditions always go
together. That is, conservative rotationally invariant
September 29, 2009
Spherical Polar Coordinates
One way to prove the foregoing statement conservative rotationally invariant ,
we can use spherical polar coordinates. This gives us a good opportunity to
introduce them, which we do now.
We already introduced polar coordinates and noted how the r and unit
vectors work. We also extended that to a z component in cylindrical
coordinates. In spherical polar coordinates, in contrast, we introduce another
angular variable , called the polar angle (or zenith angle when talking about
sky coordinates from some local position on the Earth). The relationships are
noted in the figure below. r cos z
By inspection of this figure, you should be able to see
r̂
that φ̂
x r sin cos , y r sin sin , z r cos θ̂
r sin cos r
Note that the unit vectors all point in the directions y
of increase in the vectors. The direction of the r̂ unit
vector is obvious. The θ̂ and φ̂ unit vectors are tangent xr sin sin r sin
to the lines of “latitude” and “longitude” through the point.
September 29, 2009
Gradient in Spherical Polar Coordinates
We would like to express the gradient of a function f in spherical polar
coordinates, but before we do, we note that the dot product in these
coordinates behaves just as you would expect. If z
Circumference 0
ˆ
a ar , a , a ar r a θ a φ,
ˆ ˆ
b br , b , b br rˆ b θˆ b φˆ . Circumference 2r sin
Then the dot product is r̂ φ̂
r
a b ar br a b a b . Circumference 2r θ̂
y
Recall that the gradient of a function f in cartesian
coordinates was f f f
f xˆ yˆ zˆ . x
x y z
Recall also that the change in f due to a small displacement dr is
df f dr.
All we need to do, then, is express the displacement dr in spherical polar
coordinates. dr dr rˆ rd θˆ r sin d φˆ dV=dr rd r sin d
note, not just d note, not just rd = r2 dr sin d d
September 29, 2009
Gradient in Spherical Polar Coordinates
We can rewrite df f dr completely generally as
df f r dr f r d f r sin d ,
but df is also
f f f
df dr d d .
r
Equating these, term by term, we must have
f r f , f 1 f , f 1 f
.
r r r sin
Writing this more compactly, we have
f ˆ 1 f 1 f
f rˆ θ φˆ .
r r r sin
You can see that this is somewhat more complicated than in cartesian
coordinates. Likewise the other operators of vector calculus are also more
complicated, like the divergence and curl. The expressions for these are shown
on the inside back cover of the text.
September 29, 2009
Conservative and Spherically
Symmetric Central Forces
Now we are ready to show that central forces that are conservative are also
spherically symmetric, and those that are spherically symmetric are also
conservative.
Let’s first assume that the force F(r) is conservative and prove that means it
must be spherically symmetric. Because it is conservative, we can express it as
the gradient of a scalar potential energy.
U ˆ 1 U 1 U
F(r ) U rˆ θ φˆ .
r r r sin
Because the force is central, only its radial component can be nonzero, so the
last two terms must be zero, i.e. U / U / 0. That means the potential
energy is spherically symmetric, hence the force is too: U
F (r ) rˆ .
r
We will show the converse in a moment. The point, though, is that problems
involving central forces that are spherically symmetric are nearly as simple as
one-dimensional problems, as we will see in Chapter 8.