PHY 311

CLASSICAL MECHANICS
& RELATIVITY

Miss D.D. Muhuyupe

 UNIT 2:
NEWTONIAN
MECHANICS
 NEWTONIAN MECHANICS

18. The General Linear Motion

19. Free fall
20. Friction
21. The Harmonic Oscillator
22. Mathematical Interlude – Series Expansion, Euler’s
Formulas
23. The Damped Harmonic Oscillator
24. The Pendulum.
18. The General Linear Motion
Linear motion (Rectilinear motion) is one dimensional
motion along a straight line and can be described
mathematically using only one spatial dimension.

Types of Linear motion

1. Uniform linear motion (Rectilinear Motion)
2. Non – uniform linear motion (Curvilinear Motion)
Linear (one-dimensional) motion of a mass point in the
potential
𝑥
𝑉=𝑉 𝑥 =− 0
𝐹 𝑥 ′ 𝑑𝑥′

Conservation force field, energy law is

2
1 2
1 𝑑𝑥
𝐸 = 𝑇 + 𝑉 = 𝑚𝑣 + 𝑉 𝑥 = 𝑚 +𝑉 𝑥
2 2 𝑑𝑡
Force F(𝑥) resulting from the potential
𝛿𝑉
𝑭 𝑥 = −𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑉 = −𝛻V = − 𝐞1
𝛿𝑥

i.e,
F 𝑥 = −𝑘𝑥𝐞1

Where k is called the force constant.

Force F(𝑥) results from the potential
𝛿𝑉
𝑭 𝑥 = −𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑 𝑉 = −𝛻V = − 𝐞1
𝛿𝑥

i.e,
F 𝑥 = −𝑘𝑥𝐞1

Where k is called the force constant.

Angular frequency (𝜔)

𝜔= 𝑘/𝑚
𝜔 = 2𝜋𝑣 (or 2𝜋𝑓)
19. Free Fall
Free fall: motion of a body under the influence of gravity.

𝑚𝑡 𝑧𝐞𝟑 = 𝐹 = −𝑚𝑠 𝑔𝐞3

Gravitational force
𝑀𝑠 𝑚𝑠 𝐫
𝐹𝑚 𝑠 = −𝛾 2
𝑟 𝑟
𝛾 = gravitational constant = 6.67 × 10−11 𝑁𝑚2 /𝑘𝑔2
 Gravitational acceleration
𝑀𝑠
𝑔 = 𝛾 ∙ 2 = 9.81𝑚/𝑠 2
𝑅
 𝑚𝑡 𝑧𝐞𝟑 = 𝐹 = −𝑚𝑠 𝑔𝐞3

Differential equation
𝑧 = −𝑔 (𝑎 = −𝑔)
𝑧 𝑡 = −𝑔𝑡 (𝑣 = 𝑢 + 𝑎𝑡)
1 1
𝑧 𝑡 =𝑕 − 𝑔𝑡 2 (𝑠 = 𝑢𝑡 + 𝑎𝑡 2 )
2 2
Free fall:
1. Vertical throw
2. Inclined throw
1. Vertical throw

Vertical throwup: 𝑧 𝑡 = 𝑣0 − 𝑔𝑡
1 2
𝑧 𝑡 = 𝑣0 𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡
2
Time of ascent, 𝑡 = 𝑇 :
𝑣0 𝑣0 −𝑣
𝑇= ,𝑡=
𝑔 𝑔
𝑣02
Maximum height: 𝑕 =
2𝑔
Vertical throwup: 𝑧 𝑡 = 𝑣0 − 𝑔𝑡
1 2
𝑧 𝑡 = 𝑣0 𝑡 − 𝑔𝑡
2
Time of ascent, 𝑡 = 𝑇 :
𝑣0 𝑣0 −𝑣
𝑇= ,𝑡=
𝑔 𝑔
𝑣02
Maximum height: 𝑕 =
2𝑔

Velocity: 𝑣 𝑧 = 2𝑔(𝑕 − 𝑧)
2. Inclined throw
Initial condition:
𝑣 𝑡 = 𝑣0 sin 𝛼 − 𝑔𝑡 𝐞3 + 𝑣0 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛼𝐞2
Position as a function of time
1 2
𝑟 𝑡 = 𝑣0 𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛼 − 𝑔𝑡 𝐞3 + 𝑣0 𝑡 cos 𝛼𝐞𝟐
2
Time of ascent, 𝑡 = 𝑇 :
𝑣0 sin 𝛼 2𝑣0 sin 𝛼
𝑇= ,t 0 = = 2𝑇
𝑔 𝑔
𝑣02 𝑠𝑖𝑛2𝛼
range: 𝑙 =
𝑔
20. Friction
Friction:
Friction forces are always opposite to the direction of
motion.
Energy conservation law not applicable, Kinetic energy
converts to heat.
FRICTION PHENOMENA IN A VISCOUS MEDIUM

The friction of a body in gases and liquids is governed by

the general ansatz
𝐯
𝐹𝑅 = −𝐹 𝑣
𝑣

It always acts against the velocity v. The function

F(v) is in general not simple and must be determined
empirically.
Stokes’ Friction

Stokes Law (drag friction/ stoke’s drag), named after

George Gabriel Stokes, describes the relationship between
the frictional force of a sphere moving in a liquid and other
quantities (such as particle radius and velocity of the
particle). If a sphere or a body moves through a fluid, a
friction force must be overcome.

𝐅𝑹 = −βv, β = constant > 0

𝛽 = 6𝜋𝜇𝑅
Where
𝜇 =d ynamic viscousity
Newtonian friction
Newtonian friction law states that shear stress in a fluid is
proportional to the shear rate; it holds only for some fluids,
which are then called Newtonian. Also known as Newton
formula for the stress.

𝐅𝑹 = −𝛾𝑣𝐯, γ = constant > 0

(holds, e.g., for slowly moving missiles).
Friction phenomena between solid bodies: A solid
body presses onto its support with the force F⊥.

Two distinct types of friction.

(1) Dynamic (Kinetic) friction (𝑣 ≠ 0)
Friction force that acts between objects in motion
The effective friction force is over a wide range
independent of the area of support and the velocity and is
proportional to the force F⊥ pressing the body onto the area
(support load). Thus we may adopt the empirical ansatz:
⊥ 𝐯
𝐅𝑅 = −𝜇𝑔 𝐹 (Coulomb),
𝑣
where 𝜇𝑔 is called the dynamic friction coefficient..
(2) Static friction (𝑣 = 0)
static friction is the frictional force acting on a body that is
resting. If the body is at rest, tractive forces F acting
parallel to the support area are just compensated by static
friction. This applies as long as the acting force remains
below a maximum value that is proportional to the support
load. Only if F becomes larger than a certain value
𝜇ℎ 𝐅 ⊥ does the body begin to move. It is vividly clear that
this “limit force” is proportional to the support load 𝐅 ⊥ .
Thus, the body remains at rest as long as
𝐅 || < 𝜇ℎ 𝐅 ⊥
where 𝜇ℎ is the static friction coefficient.
Thus, static friction obeys a similar law as dynamic
Static friction obeys a similar law as dynamic
friction does, although with another friction coefficient.
Empirically, we obtain the relation for the coefficients
0 < 𝜇𝑔 < 𝜇ℎ .
Their magnitude depends sensitively on the surface
properties.
21. The Harmonic Oscillator
A simple harmonic oscillator is a particle or system

that undergoes harmonic motion about an equilibrium

position, such as an object with mass vibrating on a

spring.

In mechanics a harmonic oscillator is when a force

acting on a body is proportional to, but oppositely

directed to, its displacement from the rest position.

This linear force law may be generated by a spring

obeying Hooke’s law

To simplify the problem, we consider the harmonic

oscillator only in the x-direction, i.e,

the force law is F = −𝑘𝑥e1 .

Formulae

Differential equation of the harmonic oscillator:

𝑥(𝑡) = 𝐴 cos 𝜔𝑡 + 𝐵 sin 𝜔𝑡.

𝜔
Frequency: 𝑣 =
2𝜋
1 2𝜋
Vibration period : T = =
v 𝜔