CHAPTER Some Methods in the Calculus of Variations 6-4. If we use the varied function y(a,x)=x+ asin 2(1-2) a Then wy x(1-x) @ Bt cn cos a(t») ) Thus, the total length of the path is = fits a ax ax) =f [2-2amcos (1-2) + ax" cos? a(1—x) "de @ 1, the expression for $ becomes li sl, Agee S=—]V2|1-amcosu+sa'n’ cos'u| di (4) ah? ud J @ The integral cannot be performed directly since it is, in fact, an elliptic integral. Because wis a small quantity, we can expand the integrand and obtain 1 A (aeenu tae oes) orenu 2 2 2 v8 3 8 s | o) If we keep the terms up to cos? z: and perform the integration, we find which gives 165166 os _V2 > BY pq da 8 Therefore a =0 ecl.o and S is a minimum when «: 6-2. The element of length on a plane is ds= Jax? say? from which the total length is sof Yrray fe If Sis to be minimum, fis identified as Then, the Euler equation becomes (4) becomes or, stant = C 1+ y’ a from which we have constan| Then, yaar) This is the equation of a straight line. CHAPTER 6 ) (2) @ ©SOME METHODS IN THE CALCULUS OF VARIATIONS. 6-3, The element of distance in three-dimensional space is, dS = fax? + dy? + dz Suppose x,y, 2 depends on the parameter f and that the end points are expressed by (sil) volts). 20(4))- (2 (42), Yo (t), 22 (f))- Then the total distance is a) (alal« The function fis identified as f-fepee =0, the Euler equations become F Since ay ae from which we have =constant= Cy Pee : From the combination of these equations, we have constant =C, z If we integrate (6) from f, to the arbitrary t, we have 167 (ay Q) @ ©168 CHAPTER 6 This is the equation expressing a straight line in three-dimensional space passing through the two points (44,2) (2a, or 2) 6-4, The element of distance along the surface is dS = fi? + dy? + dz In cylindrical coordinates (x,y,2) are related to (p,4.2) by r= peoss v= posing 2 from which dx=—psin odd dy = peos bap ®@ k= dzSOME METHODS IN THE CALCULUS OF VARIATIONS. 169 Substituting (8) into (1) and integrating along the entire path, we find Sie a WF ab OF © Te Sistobeminimum, fy 712 must satisfy the Euler equation: ay g © from which @ or, &) Since pis constant, (8) means and for any point along the path, condition is a helix The area of a strip of a surface of revolution is, GA = 2a ds = 2a fib dy a) ‘Thus, the total area is170 CHAPTERS Aste fx fin F a Q where -# In order tomake Aa minimum, f= xy/1+/” must satisfy equation (6.39). Now Fw a fey Substituting into equation (6.39) gives jop-4| yep Fels e | ie ye fi+ iP — xy (ay/ax\(1+ 9" Tey Multiplying by 1+ j7 and rearranging gives ty x y{l+ Integration gives -inx+Ina=4in T+ where In a is a constant of integration, Rearranging gives, Integrating gives or which is the equation of a catenary.SOME METHODS IN THE CALCULUS OF VARIATIONS. a7 6-6. If we use coordinates with the same orientation as in Example 6.2 and if we place the minimum point of the cycloid at (21,0) the parametric equations are x=a(1+-c0s 0) ay y=a(9+sin 6) Since the particle starts from rest at the point (x;,,), the velocity at any elevation xis 6.9] Q Then, the time required to reach the point (x,,,y,) is [ef. Eq. 6.20] a 8) Using (1) and the derivatives obtained therefrom, (3) can be written as 4 w a 1+ cos Now, using the trigonometric identity, 1+ cos @=2 cos" 6/2, we have 7 2 2 9 6) 2 Making the change of variable, z= sin 6/2, the expression for ! becomes eects le f eras 6 The integral is now in standard form:172 CHAPTER 6 @ Evaluating, we find = I 6) £ Thus, the time of transit from (x,,y,) to the minimum point does not depend on the position of the starting point. ay Although we have v = o(y), we only have dofdy =0 when y = 0. The Euler equation tells us d [ y = 0 (2) dx) 4 @) Now use v= 0/11 and y' =-tan Oto obtain sin @= const. @ This proves the assertion. Alternatively, Fermat's principle can be proven by the method introduced in the solution of Problem 6-8. 6-8. To find the extremum of the following integral (ef. Equation 6.1) 1 [sleayi we know that we must have from Euler's equation This implies that we also haveSOME METHODS IN THE CALCULUS OF VARIATIONS. 173 of a ay giving us a modified form of Euler's equation. This may be extended to several variables and to include the imposition of auxiliary conditions similar to the derivation in Sections 6.5 and 6.6. The result is a. wy, A Dawgino when there are constraint equations of the form silyex)=0 a) The volume of a parallelepiped with sides of lengths a, , b,c, is given by Veaho (ay We wish to muixinize such a volume under the condition that the parallelepiped is circumscribed by a sphere of radius 8; that is, ariheg @ We consider a, by, ¢; as variables and V is the function that we want to maximize; (2)is the constraint condition: Sferbye}=0 @ Then, the equations for the solution are a from which we obtain bye, +24m,=0 | ae, +24b,=0 © ab, + 24e,=0 Together with (2), these equations yield 6)174 CHAPTER 6 b) In the same way, if the parallelepiped is now circumscribed by an ellipsoid with semiaxes 4a, b,c, the constraint condition is given by a where a,, b,, ¢, are the lengths of the sides of the parallelepiped. Combining (7) with (1) and (4) gives 8) Then, @ 6:9. The average value of the square of the gradient of (x, %»,%) within a certain volume V is expressed as a & Jett @ In order to make [a minimum, must satisfy the Euler equation: of 2) 4o8 ex, If we substitute f into @), we have 8 which is just Laplace’sequation: pa) a) Therefore, émust satisfy Laplace’s equation in order that I have a minimum value.SOME METHODS IN THE CALCULUS OF VARIATIONS. 175 6-10, This problem lends itself to the method of solution suggested in the solution of Problem 6-8. The volume of a right cylinder is given by V=aR'H a The total surface area A of the cylinder is given by A= Aagoas + Agite = 2K" + 24RH = 2aR(R+ H) Q) We wish A to be a minimum. (1) is the constraint condition, and the other equations are A 4% 4 RR 5 @Q) OA, 4% 4 0H 6H where g=V—aR’H=0. The solution of these equations is ® G41. The constraint condition can be found from the relation the differential arc length of the path: s = Rd0 (see the diagram), where ds is s(x? + dy?) = Rao a which, using y= 0x", yields MEAG ax = RAO @ If we want the equation of constraint in other than a differential form, (2) can be integrated to yield A+ ROS ae TE n( 200+ ¥ ae +1) @ a where A is a constant obtained from the initial conditions. The radius of curvature of a parabola, =a is given at any point (xy) by 7 =1/2e.. The condition for the disk to roll with one and only one point of contact with the parabola is R< 1; that is,176 CHAPTER 6 IR @ 6-12. The path length is given by s=fas= ay and our equation of constraint is (x,¥/2): 2) The Euler equations with undetermined multipliers (6.69) tell us that @ a Jv vy sz2)|-ylar(te y2 2) © sa" +(uy's sty" (yy'+ =/)y2"=0 © and using the derivative of (2), —xz/)y"=(y-ay’)2” ” This looks to be in the simplest form we can make it, butis ita plane? Take the equation of a plane passing through the origin: Ax+ By=z 8) and make ita differential equation by taking derivatives (giving A + By by’ =z") and eliminating the constants. The substitution yields (7) exactly. This confirms that the path must be the intersection of the sphere with a plane passing through the origin, as required 6-13. For the reason of convenience, without lost of generality, suppose that the elosed curve passes through fixed points A(-2,0) and B(@,0) (which have been chosen to be on axis Ox). We denote the part of the closed curve above and below the Ox axis as y,(x) and y,(x) respectively. (note that y, >Oand y, <0) The enclosed area is Hove) Pvscerts Fvstorte= flytey-yecedae= f Fo. yaeteSOME METHODS IN THE CALCULUS OF VARIATIONS. 177 The total length of closed curve is Nruye f uy ff (uy eu} ‘Then the generalized versions of Eq. (6.78) (see textbook) for this case are K Jetvpax Ae Je dol a_i ay, axoy; am wail? > “altro 0 4, jf ae ey, dx oys “Van @ Analogously to Eq. (6.85); from (1) we obtain (x Ay} +(y, A, = 4? @ from @) we obtain (xB, +(y,-B, P= 2? @ where constants A’s, B’s can be determined from 4 initial conditions (x=tay,=0) and (x=4ay,=0) We note that y, <0 and y, > 0, so actually (3) and (4) altogether describe a circular path of radius 2. And this is the sought configuration that renders maximum enclosed area for a given path length. 6-14, It is more convenient to work with cylindrical coordinates (r, 4,2) in this problem. The constraint here is 2= 1-1, then dz =-dr 8 dr? + Pd? + de? =2(dr? + dp) o where we have introduced a new angular coordinate fF In this form of ds*, we clearly see that the space is 2-dimensional Euclidean flat, so the shortest line connecting two given points is a straight line given by % h initiates OM) woul FH) : d <= Be) this line passes through the endpoints (r= 1, ¢. a =), then we can determine unambiguously the shortest path equation and178 CHAPTER 6 Accordingly, the shortest connecting length is eB = 6, (2) 1? =2VB sin 6-15, wwf) a) Treating ily] a5 a mechanical action, we find the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equation y@) Combining with the boundary conditions (x = 0, y = 0) and (=, y = 1), we can determine unambiguously the functional form of y(x)= (sin x)/(sin1). b) The corresponding minimum value of the integral is ri(any_ i wij 7) -y Jn 7 J tteos2e cot) =0.682 ce) Ifx=y then Iy] = (2/3) = 0.667. 6-16. a) Sisarc length S= flats ay sae —faxyh (¥- = Jaxyi+ (4 8 xa flax Treating $ and I like a mechanical action and Lagrangian respectively, we find the canonical momentum associated with coordinate y (dy) OL Ge (%) ha 2x ( 2) dx/ ge a p Because L does not depend on y explicitly, then E-L equation implies that p is constant (ie. dp/dv=0), then the above equation becomes 7 ” dx, Sx =al1+2x} +B =O)and (x= 1,y where A and B are constants. Using boundary conditions (x= 0, determine the are equation unambiguously = 1)one canSOME METHODS IN THE CALCULUS OF VARIATIONS. 179 b) 6-17. a) Equation of a ellipse which implies so the maximal area of the rectangle, whose comers lie on that ellipse, is Max{A] = Maxl-4ay] = 2 iad. This happens when b x= ds y= acceed b) The area of the ellipse is Ay ~ mab ; so the fraction of rectangle area to ellipse area is then Max{Al_ 2. paaecin 6-18. One can see that the surface xy = is “locally” symmetric with respect to the line x--y=V-2 where x>0,y <0, 2 <0. This line is a parabola, This implies that if the particle starts from point (1-1-1) (which belongs to the symmetry line) under gravity ideally will move downward along this line. Its velocity at altitude z (z < -1) can be found from the conservation of energy. re 2D180 CHAPTER 6