Linked Questions

3 votes
1 answer
579 views

Doubt in the expression of Lagrangian of a system [duplicate]

There is a problem given in Goldstein's Classical Mechanics Chapter-1 as 20. A particle of mass $\,m\,$ moves in one dimension such that it has the Lagrangian \begin{equation} L\boldsymbol{=}\...
Iti's user avatar
  • 446
0 votes
1 answer
448 views

Can these different Lagrangians lead to the same equation of motions? [duplicate]

A particle of mass $m$ moves in one-dimension with position $x$ and potential $V(x)$, described by the Lagrangian $$ L = \frac{1}{12}m^2 \dot{x}^4 + m \dot{x}^2 V - V^2 $$ Show that the resulting ...
physicsLover's user avatar
87 votes
15 answers
16k views

What are examples of Lagrangians that not of the form $T-U$?

My Physics teacher was reluctant to define Lagrangian as Kinetic Energy minus Potential Energy because he said that there were cases where a system's Lagrangian did not take this form. Are you are ...
ZAC's user avatar
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42 votes
7 answers
11k views

Is there a proof from the first principle that the Lagrangian $L = T - V$?

Is there a proof from the first principle that for the Lagrangian $L$, $$L = T\text{(kinetic energy)} - V\text{(potential energy)}$$ in classical mechanics? Assume that Cartesian coordinates are used. ...
Chin Yeh's user avatar
  • 771
8 votes
3 answers
4k views

Non-uniqueness of the Lagrangian

Goldstein, 3rd ed $$ \frac{d}{d t}\left(\frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q}_{j}}\right)-\frac{\partial L}{\partial q_{j}}=0\tag{1.57} $$ expressions referred to as "Lagrange's equations." ...
Kashmiri's user avatar
  • 1,340
2 votes
1 answer
3k views

Lagrangian of a relativistic free massive particle

Lagrangian for a relativistic free particle can be written as $$L=-m_0c^2\sqrt{1-\frac{v^2}{c^2}} .\tag{1}$$ It gives correct expression of Hamiltonian which is $$H=\sqrt{p^2 c^2+m_0^2c^4}.\tag{2}$$ ...
physics101's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
1k views

Do the same equations of motion imply the same Lagrangians? [duplicate]

If two Lagrangian (densities) $\mathcal{L}$ give the same equations of motion, are they equivalent?
SuperCiocia's user avatar
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3 votes
3 answers
222 views

How to think of Lagrangians? [duplicate]

I am struggling to come up with the "right" way to think of Lagrangians. For example, in Hamiltonian mechanics the Hamiltonian is simply the total energy of the system. In classical ...
CBBAM's user avatar
  • 3,992
1 vote
1 answer
984 views

Damped harmonic Oscillator Lagrangian equivalence

The objective is to prove that the Lagrangian: $$L'=\frac{2\dot x+\lambda x}{2\Omega x}\tan^{-1}(\frac{2\dot x+\lambda x}{2\Omega x})-\frac{1}{2}\ln(\dot x^2+\lambda \dot{x } x + \omega^2x^2), \qquad \...
Acephalus's user avatar
  • 189
1 vote
3 answers
135 views

Can Lagrangians be not related to energy?

I understand that in Lagrangian mechanics, a Lagrangian can be written as $L=T-V$ where $T$ and $V$ are the kinetic and potential energy of the system, respectively. However, in this paper, it ...
Haorong Wu's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
436 views

Is it always the case that the square root of a lagrangian gives the same equations of motion as the lagrangian itself?

Inspired by the Phys.SE post Geodesic Equation from variation: Is the squared lagrangian equivalent? I was wondering if it is always the case that the square root of a lagrangian gives the same ...
Andrew Micheal Anderson's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
105 views

Question from Classical mechanics Goldstein H [closed]

When we are given a Lagrangian as $L \equiv L(\dot{x}, V)$ where $V=V(x)$, while differentiating why do we set $\frac{dV}{d\dot{x}} = 0$? Is it just because $V$ is a function of only $x$? Since it’s ...
Owaise Ahmed's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
84 views

What is the physical interpretation of a Lagrangian with $\dot{x}^4$?

Among the exercises in the first chapter of Goldstein's book "Classical Mechanics", it appears the lagrangian $$ L\left(x,\frac{dx}{dt}\right) = \frac{m^2}{12}\left(\frac{dx}{dt}\right)^4 + m\left(\...
m137's user avatar
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