Advanced Mechanics, Homework 1, Due Thursday, Aug.

30, 2018

1. Recall that the acceleration of a particle can be decomposed into the tangent and normal components to a space
curve as
d2 s 1  ds 2
~a = 2 t̂ + n̂
dt R dt
where R is the radius of curvature, which is defined by 1/R ≡ |dt̂/ds|. The unit vector b̂ ≡ t̂× n̂ is called the binormal
vector, and is perpendicular to the “osculating” plane.
(i) Show that db̂/dt ∝ n̂.
(ii) The torsion τ (t) of the curve is defined by
db̂
≡ −τ n̂.
ds
Show that
db̂
= −τ vn̂
dt
where v = ds/dt.
(iii) Prove the Frenet-Serret formulae:
dt̂ v
= n̂,
dt R
dn̂ v
= − t̂ + τ v b̂.
dt R
(iv) Suppose that a particle follows the trajectory given by ~r(t) = (x(t), y(t), z(t)) where

x(t) = a1 sin(ωt), y(t) = a2 cos(ωt), z(t) = v0 t,

where a1 , a2 , ω, and v0 are constant. Calculate the curvature and torsion for the following trajectory, and roughly
sketch the trajectory:
a1 = a2 = a, v0 6= 0.

2. Consider a system that would have n degrees of freedom, expressed by n independent coordinates x1 , x2 , ..., xn , if
there were no constraints. Suppose, however, that there exists a constraint which has the differential form
n
X
gj (x1 , x2 , ..., xn )dxj = 0.
j=1
Pn
This constraint is holonomic if an integrating factor, f (x1 , x2 , ..., xn ) say, can be found such that when j=1 gj dxj
is multiplied by f the result is an exact differential, dh say, i.e.
n
X
f gj (x1 , x2 , ..., xn )dxj = dh.
j=1

In this case the constraint can be reexpressed as h(x1 , x2 , ..., xn ) = constant, an equation that in principle can be
solved to link the x1 , x2 , ..., xn .
(i) Show that if the constraint is holonomic
∂(f gi ) ∂(f gj )
= .
∂xj ∂xi
(ii) Consider a thin solid disk of radius R. In the absence of constraints the disk has 6 degrees of freedom; 3 cartesian
coordinates are needed to specify the position of its center, 2 angular coordinates are needed to specify the orientation
of an imaginary rolling axis through its center, perpendicular to its plane, and another angular coordinate is needed
to specify the angle through which the disk can rotate about this axis. Now let us impose the following constraints:
(a) The disk rolls on a horizontal surface, the xy-plane,
(b) it rolls without slipping, and
(c) the plane of the disk remains vertical.
The translation constraint (a) requires that z = 0; this is holonomic and reduces the degrees of freedom to 5. The
disk can spin about the z-axis and roll about the axis perpendicular to its plane but the rotation constraint (c)
requires that the rolling axis be horizontal, so only one angle is needed to define the orientation of this axis. Let
this angle, θ say, be the angle that the rolling axis makes with the x-axis. The rolling (nonslipping) constraint (b)
requires that the instantaneous point of contact of the disk and plane have zero velocity, which is a constraint on the
velocity of the center of the disk. In principle, the rotation and rolling constraints reduce the degrees of freedom still
further, to 2. However, the velocity of the center of the disk depends on the history of the motion and cannot be
known until the problem is solved. Consequently, the rolling constraint is nonholonomic. Prove this last statement
mathematically. Start by expressing the velocity of any point on the rim, relative to the velocity of the center, as
~ ×R
ω ~ where ω~ is the angular velocity and R~ locates the point on the rim relative to the center. The rolling constraint
~
implies that when R = −Rẑ the velocity ~v ≡ (ẋ, ẏ) of the center is equal and opposite to ω ~ The rotation
~ × R.
constraint implies that ω~ has zero component in the direction perpendicular to the z- and rolling axes. Express the
component of ω ~ in the direction of the rolling axis as φ̇ where φ is the angle which a fixed point on the rim makes
with the z-axis. Hence show that during an infinitesimal time duration dt

dx − R sin θdφ = 0,

dy + R cos θdφ = 0,
and that both of these constraints are nonholonomic. (Consequently, x and y are not functionally related to θ and
φ. E.g.: Suppose that there is spinning but no rolling; x, y and φ are fixed but arbitrary, while θ varies.)
(iii) How many coordinates must be introduced to solve for the motion in part (ii)?