Here we show that the motion of two particles may be separated into the motion of their centre of mass and their relative motion. Let the masses be nt; and mz, their locations r; and r2, and the total mass be m=m1 + m2. Their separation is ra=non (Fia.1) and the location of the centre of mass is Ramiritenrs (FI4.2) a The hamiltonian for a system in which the potential energy depends only on their separation is noe H Vln = F4.3 =~ Sat Gay Vet Mlle ~ ral) (i43) We want to show that this operator can be transformed into ee Bos H=-SE- cra + Vir) (Fi4.4) in what should be an obvious notation. If this transformation can be achieved, then ir follows that the wavefunction can be expressed as the product P(R)U(r). The transformation of the potential enemy contribution is trivial; the work we have to do resides in the derivatives. To analyse them, we consider the x-components, which are yy = Meee (Fi4.5) x=ap oy = It follows that ame 8 a = xt == m Ox ox a ams 2 = = = = moX Ox ‘Therefore, the x-component of the sum of the two laplacians is 12 18 tfms 8) time ay im Oak * nag Od ~ ory Coe OX Oe) Pam Ue OX Se, 18 ft tye = mam * (stan) ‘The y- and z-components are dealt with similarly; and when added together we obtain. 1 1 L —Vit+—Vp = VA L am am z Rtas (Hi4.6)