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Herglotz's Variational Principle
In mathematics and physics, Herglotz's variational principle, named after German mathematician and physicist Gustav Herglotz, is an extension of the Hamilton's principle, where the Lagrangian L explicitly involves the action S as an independent variable, and S itself is represented as the solution of an ordinary differential equation (ODE) whose right hand side is the Lagrangian L, instead of an integration of L. Herglotz's variational principle is known as the variational principle for nonconservative Lagrange equations and Hamilton equations. Mathematical formulation Suppose there is a Lagrangian L = L(t,\boldsymbol, \boldsymbol,S) of 2n+2 variables, where \boldsymbol q = (q_1, q_2, \dots, q_n) and \boldsymbol u = (u_1, u_2, \dots, u_n) are n dimensional vectors, and t, S are scalar values. A time interval _0, t_1 is fixed. Given a time-parameterized curve \boldsymbol q = \boldsymbol q (t), consider the ODE \begin \dot S (t) = L(t, \boldsymbol q (t), \boldsymbol \dot q (t), S ...
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Gustav Herglotz
Gustav Herglotz (2 February 1881 – 22 March 1953) was a German Bohemian physicist best known for his works on the theory of relativity and seismology. Biography Gustav Ferdinand Joseph Wenzel Herglotz was born in Volary num. 28 to a public notary Gustav Herglotz (also a Doctor of Law) and his wife Maria née Wachtel. The family were Sudeten Germans. He studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Vienna in 1899, and attended lectures by Ludwig Boltzmann. In this time of study, he had a friendship with his colleagues Paul Ehrenfest, Hans Hahn and Heinrich Tietze. In 1900 he went to the LMU Munich and achieved his Doctorate in 1902 under Hugo von Seeliger. Afterwards, he went to the University of Göttingen, where he habilitated under Felix Klein. In 1904 he became Privatdozent for Astronomy and Mathematics there, and in 1907 Professor extraordinarius. In 1908 he became Professor extraordinarius in Vienna, and in 1909 at the University of Leipzig. From 1925 (unt ...
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Hamilton's Principle
In physics, Hamilton's principle is William Rowan Hamilton's formulation of the principle of stationary action. It states that the dynamics of a physical system are determined by a variational problem for a functional based on a single function, the Lagrangian, which may contain all physical information concerning the system and the forces acting on it. The variational problem is equivalent to and allows for the derivation of the '' differential'' equations of motion of the physical system. Although formulated originally for classical mechanics, Hamilton's principle also applies to classical fields such as the electromagnetic and gravitational fields, and plays an important role in quantum mechanics, quantum field theory and criticality theories. Mathematical formulation Hamilton's principle states that the true evolution of a system described by generalized coordinates between two specified states and at two specified times and is a stationary point (a point where ...
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Action (physics)
In physics, action is a scalar quantity that describes how the balance of kinetic versus potential energy of a physical system changes with trajectory. Action is significant because it is an input to the principle of stationary action, an approach to classical mechanics that is simpler for multiple objects. Action and the variational principle are used in Feynman's formulation of quantum mechanics and in general relativity. For systems with small values of action close to the Planck constant, quantum effects are significant. In the simple case of a single particle moving with a constant velocity (thereby undergoing uniform linear motion), the action is the momentum of the particle times the distance it moves, added up along its path; equivalently, action is the difference between the particle's kinetic energy and its potential energy, times the duration for which it has that amount of energy. More formally, action is a mathematical functional which takes the trajectory ( ...
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Ordinary Differential Equation
In mathematics, an ordinary differential equation (ODE) is a differential equation (DE) dependent on only a single independent variable (mathematics), variable. As with any other DE, its unknown(s) consists of one (or more) Function (mathematics), function(s) and involves the derivatives of those functions. The term "ordinary" is used in contrast with partial differential equation, ''partial'' differential equations (PDEs) which may be with respect to one independent variable, and, less commonly, in contrast with stochastic differential equations, ''stochastic'' differential equations (SDEs) where the progression is random. Differential equations A linear differential equation is a differential equation that is defined by a linear polynomial in the unknown function and its derivatives, that is an equation of the form :a_0(x)y +a_1(x)y' + a_2(x)y'' +\cdots +a_n(x)y^+b(x)=0, where a_0(x),\ldots,a_n(x) and b(x) are arbitrary differentiable functions that do not need to be linea ...
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Lagrangian Mechanics
In physics, Lagrangian mechanics is a formulation of classical mechanics founded on the d'Alembert principle of virtual work. It was introduced by the Italian-French mathematician and astronomer Joseph-Louis Lagrange in his presentation to the Turin Academy of Science in 1760 culminating in his 1788 grand opus, ''Mécanique analytique''. Lagrangian mechanics describes a mechanical system as a pair consisting of a configuration space (physics), configuration space ''M'' and a smooth function L within that space called a ''Lagrangian''. For many systems, , where ''T'' and ''V'' are the Kinetic energy, kinetic and Potential energy, potential energy of the system, respectively. The stationary action principle requires that the Action (physics)#Action (functional), action functional of the system derived from ''L'' must remain at a stationary point (specifically, a Maximum and minimum, maximum, Maximum and minimum, minimum, or Saddle point, saddle point) throughout the time evoluti ...
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Hamiltonian Mechanics
In physics, Hamiltonian mechanics is a reformulation of Lagrangian mechanics that emerged in 1833. Introduced by Sir William Rowan Hamilton, Hamiltonian mechanics replaces (generalized) velocities \dot q^i used in Lagrangian mechanics with (generalized) ''momenta''. Both theories provide interpretations of classical mechanics and describe the same physical phenomena. Hamiltonian mechanics has a close relationship with geometry (notably, symplectic geometry and Poisson structures) and serves as a Hamilton–Jacobi equation, link between classical and quantum mechanics. Overview Phase space coordinates (''p'', ''q'') and Hamiltonian ''H'' Let (M, \mathcal L) be a Lagrangian mechanics, mechanical system with configuration space (physics), configuration space M and smooth Lagrangian_mechanics#Lagrangian, Lagrangian \mathcal L. Select a standard coordinate system (\boldsymbol,\boldsymbol) on M. The quantities \textstyle p_i(\boldsymbol,\boldsymbol,t) ~\stackrel~ / are called ''m ...
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Initial Condition
In mathematics and particularly in dynamic systems, an initial condition, in some contexts called a seed value, is a value of an evolving variable at some point in time designated as the initial time (typically denoted ''t'' = 0). For a system of order ''k'' (the number of time lags in discrete time, or the order of the largest derivative in continuous time) and dimension ''n'' (that is, with ''n'' different evolving variables, which together can be denoted by an ''n''-dimensional coordinate vector), generally ''nk'' initial conditions are needed in order to trace the system's variables forward through time. In both differential equations in continuous time and difference equations in discrete time, initial conditions affect the value of the dynamic variables (state variables) at any future time. In continuous time, the problem of finding a closed form solution for the state variables as a function of time and of the initial conditions is called the initial valu ...
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Integrating Factor
In mathematics, an integrating factor is a function that is chosen to facilitate the solving of a given equation involving differentials. It is commonly used to solve non-exact ordinary differential equations, but is also used within multivariable calculus when multiplying through by an integrating factor allows an inexact differential to be made into an exact differential (which can then be integrated to give a scalar field). This is especially useful in thermodynamics where temperature becomes the integrating factor that makes entropy an exact differential. Use An integrating factor is any expression that a differential equation is multiplied by to facilitate integration. For example, the nonlinear second order equation : \frac = A y^ admits \frac as an integrating factor: : \frac \frac = A y^ \frac. To integrate, note that both sides of the equation may be expressed as derivatives by going backwards with the chain rule: : \frac\left(\frac 1 2 \left(\frac\right)^2\rig ...
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Time Derivative
A time derivative is a derivative of a function with respect to time, usually interpreted as the rate of change of the value of the function. The variable denoting time is usually written as t. Notation A variety of notations are used to denote the time derivative. In addition to the normal ( Leibniz's) notation, :\frac A very common short-hand notation used, especially in physics, is the 'over-dot'. I.E. :\dot (This is called Newton's notation) Higher time derivatives are also used: the second derivative with respect to time is written as :\frac with the corresponding shorthand of \ddot. As a generalization, the time derivative of a vector, say: : \mathbf v = \left v_1,\ v_2,\ v_3, \ldots \right is defined as the vector whose components are the derivatives of the components of the original vector. That is, : \frac = \left \frac,\frac ,\frac , \ldots \right . Use in physics Time derivatives are a key concept in physics. For example, for a changing position x, its ...
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Physics Theorems
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in other words, to the regular succession of events." It is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines. "Physics is one of the most fundamental of the sciences. Scientists of all disciplines use the ideas of physics, including chemists who study the structure of molecules, paleontologists who try to reconstruct how dinosaurs walked, and climatologists who study how human activities affect the atmosphere and oceans. Physics is also the foundation of all engineering and technology. No engineer could design a flat-screen TV, an interplanetary spacecraft, or even a better mousetrap without first understanding the basic laws of physics. (...) You will come to see physics as a towering achievement of the human intellect ...
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