Answer to Question #302629 in Classical Mechanics for Sudhir

Question

What is meant by cyclic co-ordinate? Show that generalized momentum corresponding to a cyclic co-ordinate of conservative system is conserved.

Answer 1

Answer

cyclic coordinate is one that does not explicitly appear in the Lagrangian.In Hamiltonian mechanics a cyclic coordinate often is called an ignorable coordinate .

generalized momentum corresponding to a cyclic co-ordinate of conservative system is conserved because it's partial derivative with time remains constant.