PHYS 343 W2022 Assignment 2

Due: Wednesday 8 March 2023 at 23:59

This assignment contains 2 problems on 3 pages, including this cover page.

Submit your work in the designated DropBox in D2L by the due date

Marking: Problem 1a: 2 pts, Problem 1b: 2 pts, Problem 1c: 1pt; Problem 1d: 2pts; Problem
1e: 2pts; Problem 2a: 2 pts, Problem 2b: 2pts, Problem 2c: 1 pt, Problem 2d: 2 pts, Problem
2e: 2pts.

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Problem 1. A crooked windmill.

A crooked windmill is made of four solid spheres with the same radius R, but different masses
m1, m2, m3, and m4 (Figure 1). Each sphere is attached by a thin massless rod to the turning point
O, such that the distance of the centre of m1 to O is L1, the distance of the centre of m2 to O is
L2, etc.

Figure 1. A crooked windmill is made of 4

spheres with different mass, connected to the
turning point O with massless rods such that the
distance of the centre of sphere m1 to O is L1,
etc. The rods are mutually perpendicular. The
angle q marks the position of m1 relative to the
vertical direction. The force of gravity is
downward in the drawing, in the direction q = 0.
No other forces act on the mill.
The moment of inertia of a solid sphere with
mass m and radius R about an axis through its
centre of mass is Icm = (2/5) m R2 .

a) Write the kinetic energy of the mill in terms of the generalized variable q and its derivative
with respect to time.

b) Write the potential energy of the mill in terms of the generalized variable q.

c) Write the Lagrangian for the mill with generalized variable q.

d) Derive the equation of motion from the Lagrangian with generalized variable q.

e) Use the equation of motion to identify all possible equilibrium situations for the mill. You
are not required to investigate whether an equilibrium is stable or unstable.

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Problem 2. A spinning ring with a sliding mass.

Figure 2 shows a thin ring with radius R and mass M. The ring can spin freely about the z-axis,
which is horizontal in Figure 2. A point mass m can slide without friction along the ring. The x-
axis is vertical as shown, with the force of gravity acting in the –x direction. The +y-axis is directed
out of the plane of the drawing through the origin O.

This choice of coordinates defines a convenient right-handed coordinate system x, y, z. As the

ring spins about the z-axis, the point mass m is restricted to a sphere with radius R around O.
The problem has 2 degrees of freedom. We use the standard angles of spherical coordinates, f
and q, as generalized variables. These are related to x, y, and z in the usual way through the
coordinate transformation
x = R sin ✓ cos
y = R sin ✓ sin
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z = R cos ✓

The choice of the axes is such that the spinning of the ring changes only the variable f, while
motion along the ring changes only the variable q. Remember that in general, m moves in both f
and q directions.

Figure 2. A thin ring with mass M and

radius R can spin freely about the z-axis,
which is horizontal. The x-axis is vertical
with gravity in the –x direction. The mass
m slides without friction along the ring.
The centre O of the ring is fixed.

a) Write the kinetic energy of this system in terms of the generalized coordinates f and q and
their derivatives with respect to time.

b) Write the potential energy of this system in terms of the generalized coordinates f and q.

c) Write the Lagrangian of the system in Figure 2 with generalized coordinates f and q.

d) Use the Lagrangian to derive the equation of motion for f.

e) Use the Lagrangian to derive the equation of motion for q.

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