Mechanics

Physics 151

Lecture 8
Rigid Body Motion
(Chapter 4)
What We Did Last Time
! Discussed scattering problem
! Foundation for all experimental physics
! Defined and calculated cross sections N hits = I ⋅ σ
! Differential cross section and impact parameter
! Rutherford scattering s ds
σ ( Θ) =
! Translated into laboratory system sin Θ d Θ
! Angular translation + Jacobian
! Shape of σ(Θ) changes
Goals For Today
! Start discussing rigid-body motion
! Multi-particle system with “fixed shape”
! Concentrate on representing the rotation
! Which generalized coordinates should we use?
! Define Euler angles
! Define infinitesimal rotation
! Will use this for angular velocities, etc

! Today’s lecture is largely mathematical

! Assume knowledge of linear algebra
Rigid Body
! Multi-particle system with fixed distances
! Constraints: rij = ri − r j = const for all i, j
! How should we define generalized coordinates?
! How many independent coordinates are there?
! If you start from 3N and subtract the number of constraints
N ( N − 1) 7 N − N 2
3N − = ≤ 0 for N ≥ 7
2 2
Not all the constraints are independent

! Right answer: 3 translation and 3 rotation = 6

Today’s theme
2-D Rotation
! 2-dimensional rotation is specified by a 2×2 matrix
 x′   cos θ sin θ  x  y
 ′ =    y′ j i′
  
y − sin θ cos θ  y  x′
j′ θ x
 i′ ⋅ i i′ ⋅ j  x 
=  
 j′ ⋅ i j′ ⋅ j  y  i
! Try the same thing with 3-d rotation
z y′
z′

y
x x′
3D Rotation
! Vector r is represented in x-y-z and x’-y’-z’ as
r = xi + yj + zk = x′i′ + y′j′ + z ′k ′
! Using angles θij between two axes z
x′ = r ⋅ i′ = xi ⋅ i′ + yj ⋅ i′ + zk ⋅ i′ y′
z′ θ13
= cos θ11 x + cos θ12 y + cos θ13 z
θ12
y′ = cos θ 21 x + cos θ 22 y + cos θ 23 z y
θ11 x′
z ′ = cos θ 31 x + cos θ 32 y + cos θ 33 z x

 x′   cos θ11 cos θ12 cos θ13   x 

or  y′ = cos θ 21 cos θ 22 cos θ 23   y 
 z ′   cos θ 31 cos θ 32 cos θ 33   z 
3D Rotation
! Simplify formulae by renaming
( x, y, z ) → ( x1 , x2 , x3 ) ( x′, y′, z ′) → ( x1′, x2′ , x3′ )
! Rotation is now expressed by
xi′ = ∑ cos θ ij x j = ∑ aij x j = aij x j
j j

Einstein convention:
Implicit summation over repeated index
! We got 9 parameters aij to describe a 3-d rotation
! Only 3 are independent
Constraints of Rotation
! Rotation cannot change the length of any vector
! Exactly the constraints we need for rigid body motion
r 2 = xi xi = xi′xi′
! Using the transformation matrix
xi′ = aij x j xi′xi′ = aij x j aik xk
6 conditions
1 ( j = k ) reduces free
therefore aij aik = δ jk ≡ 
0 ( j ≠ k )
parameters
from 9 to 3
! Matrix A = [aij] is orthogonal
! =1
AA
Transpose of A
  a11 a12 a13 
Orthogonal Matrix A =  a21 a22 a23 
 a31 a32 a33 
! Goldstein Section 4.3 covers algebra of matrices
You must have learned this already
!
! aij aik = δ jk
! Orthogonal matrix A satisfies AA = 1
! Consider the determinants Transposed matrix
! !
AA = A A = A = 1
2
A = ±1
! |A| = +1 " proper matrix
! |A| = –1 " improper matrix
Space Inversion
! Space inversion is represented by
 −1 0 0 
r′ = −r = Sr ≡  0 −1 0  r S = −1
 0 0 −1
! S is orthogonal  Doesn’t change distances
! But it cannot be a rotation
! Coordinate axes invert to become left-handed

! Orthogonal matrices with |A| = –1 does this

! Rigid body rotation is represented by proper

orthogonal matrices
Rotation Matrix
! A operating on r can be interpreted as r′ = Ar
! Rotating r around an axis by an angle
! Positive angle = clockwise rotation

! Rotating the coordinate axes around the same axis by the

same angle in the opposite direction
! Positive angle = counter clockwise rotation

! Both interpretations are useful

! We are more interested in the latter for now
! How do we write A with 3 parameters?
! There are many ways
Euler Angles
! Transform x-y-z to x’-y’-z’ in 3 steps
( x, y , z ) x
Rotate CCW by φ around z axis
(ξ ,η , ζ ) Dx
Rotate CCW by θ around ξ axis
(ξ ′,η ′, ζ ′) CDx
Rotate CCW by ψ around ζ’ axis
( x′, y′, z′) Ax = BCDx
zζ z η′ z y′
ζ′ z′
θ
η
x′
y y ψ y
x φ ξ x ξ′ x
 Euler Angles
 cos φ sin φ 0 1 0 0   cosψ sin ψ 0
D =  − sin φ cos φ 0  C = 0 cos θ sin θ  B =  − sin ψ cosψ 0 
 0 0 1  0 − sin θ cos θ   0 0 1 

 cosψ cos φ − cos θ sin φ sin ψ cosψ sin φ + cos θ cos φ sin ψ sin ψ sin θ 
A =  − sin ψ cos φ − cos θ sin φ cosψ − sin ψ sin φ + cos θ cos φ cosψ cosψ sin θ 
 sin θ sin φ − sin θ cos φ cos θ 

! Definition of Euler angles is somewhat arbitrary

! May rotate around different axes in different order
! Many conventions exist – Watch out!
Rigid Body Motion
! Motion of a rigid body can be described by:
! Define x’-y’-z’ axes (body axes) attached to the rigid body
! Same direction as x-y-z (space axes) at t = 0

! Origin fixed at one point of the rigid body (e.g. CoM)

! Use R(t) to describe the motion of the origin

! Use A(t) to describe the rotation of the x’-y’-z’ axes
! Use Euler angles φ(t), θ(t), ψ(t)

! A(0) = 1 " φ(0) = θ(0) = ψ(0) = 0

! 6 independent coordinates (x, y, z, φ, θ, ψ)

Euler’s Theorem
The general displacement of a rigid body with
one point fixed is a rotation about some axis
! In other words
! Arbitrary 3-d rotation equals to one rotation around an axis
! Any 3-d rotation leaves one vector unchanged
! For any rotation matrix A
! There exists a vector r that satisfies Ar = r
! A has an eigenvalue of 1 Eigenvector with
eigenvalue 1
Euler’s Theorem
! If a matrix A satisfies Ar = r
( A − 1)r = 0 A − 1 = 0 or r = 0 or A - 1 = 0
! Since A −1 = A !
! = 1− A
( A − 1) A !

A −1 A ! = 1− A
!

A −1 = 1− A

! For odd-dimensioned matrices −M = − M

A −1 = − A −1 = 0
Q.E.D.
Rotation Vector?
! Euler’s theorem provides another way of describing
3-d rotation
! Direction of axis (2 parameters) and angle of rotation (1)
! It sounds a bit like angular momentum
! Critical difference: commutativity
! Angular momentum is a vector
! Two angular momenta can be added in any order

! Rotation is not a vector

! Two rotations add up differently depending on which
rotation is made first
Infinitesimal Rotation
! Small (infinitesimal) rotations are commutative
! They can be represented by vectors
! We also need them to describe how a rigid body changes
orientation with time
! Infinitesimal rotation must be close to non-rotation
xi′ = xi + ε ij x j or x′ = (1 + ε)x ε ij " 1
! Two successive infinitesimal rotations make
(1 + ε1 )(1 + ε 2 ) = 1 + ε1 + ε 2 + ε1ε 2 2nd order of ε vanishes
= 1 + ε1 + ε 2
! Obviously commutative
Infinitesimal Rotation
! Inverse of an infinitesimal rotation is
(1 + ε) −1 = 1 − ε (1 + ε)(1 − ε) = 1 + ε − ε = 1
! !
Using A −1 = A 1 + ε! = 1 − ε
ε! = −ε ε is antisymmetric
! We can write ε as
 0 d Ω3 −d Ω2  dΩ = (d Ω1 , d Ω 2 , d Ω3 )
ε =  −d Ω3 0 d Ω1  behaves almost like a
 d Ω 2 −d Ω1 0  vector

We’ll see…
Infinitesimal Rotation
! A vector r is rotated by (1 + ε) as r′ = (1 + ε)r
 0 d Ω3 −d Ω 2   x1 
dr ≡ r′ − r = εr =  −d Ω3 0 d Ω1   x2  = r × dΩ
 d Ω 2 −d Ω1 0   x3 
! Euler’s theorem says this equals to a
n dΦ
rotation by an infinitesimal angle dΦ
around an axis n dr = r ×nd Φ
dΩ = nd Φ dr
r
Axial Vector
! dΩ behaves pretty much like a vector
! dΩ rotates the same way as r with coordinate rotations
! Space inversion S reveals difference
! Ordinary vector flips r′ = Sr = −r dΩ′ = dΩ
! dΩ doesn’t (dr )′ = r′ × dΩ′
= −dr = −r × dΩ = r′ × dΩ
! Such a “vector” is called an axial vector
! Examples: angular momentum, magnetic field
Parity
! Parity operator P represents space inversion
P
( x, y, z ) →(− x, − y, − z )
Quantity Parity Eigenvalue
Scalar PS = S +1
Pseudoscalar PS* = −S* −1
Vector PV = −V −1
Axial vector PV* = V* +1
V × V = V* V × V* = V S *V = V*
V ⋅ V* = S * V* ⋅ V* = S S *V* = V etc.
Summary
! Discussed 3-dimensional rotation
! Preparation for rigid body motion
! Movement in 3-d + Rotation in 3-d = 6 coordinates

! Looked for ways to describe 3-d rotation

! Euler angles one of the many possibilities
! Euler’s theorem
! Defined infinitesimal rotation dΩ
! Commutative (unlike finite rotation)
! Behaves as an axial vector (like angular momentum)
! Ready to go back to physics