dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaUnderstanding d'Alembert's principle: System of Pendulums
| Authors | Subhankar Ray, J. Shamanna |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0606010 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0606010 |
Abstract
Lagrangian mechanics uses d'Alembert's principle of zero virtual work as an important starting point. The orthogonality of the force of constraint and virtual displacement is emphasized in literature, without a clear warning that this is true usually for a single particle system. For a system of particles connected by constraints, it is shown, that the virtual work of the entire system is zero, even though the virtual displacements of the particles are not perpendicular to the respective constraint forces. It is also demonstrated why d'Alembert's principle involves virtual work rather than the work done by constraint forces on allowed displacements.
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"abstract": "Lagrangian mechanics uses d\u0027Alembert\u0027s principle of zero virtual work as an\nimportant starting point. The orthogonality of the force of constraint and\nvirtual displacement is emphasized in literature, without a clear warning that\nthis is true usually for a single particle system. For a system of particles\nconnected by constraints, it is shown, that the virtual work of the entire\nsystem is zero, even though the virtual displacements of the particles are not\nperpendicular to the respective constraint forces. It is also demonstrated why\nd\u0027Alembert\u0027s principle involves virtual work rather than the work done by\nconstraint forces on allowed displacements.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0606010",
"authors": [
"Subhankar Ray",
"J. Shamanna"
],
"categories": [
"physics.class-ph"
],
"title": "Understanding d\u0027Alembert\u0027s principle: System of Pendulums",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0606010"
},
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