Answer to Question #97273 in Classical Mechanics for Rawat

Question

What are generalise coordinates? What are the advantages using them.

Answer 1

Generalized coordinates are the state variables of the system (not to be confused with its parameters) that describe the configuration of a dynamic system relative to some reference configuration in analytical mechanics, and specifically, the study of the dynamics of solids in a system of many bodies. These variables should uniquely determine the system configuration relative to the reference configuration.

Although there may be many options for choosing the generalized coordinates of a physical system, variables are usually selected that are convenient for clarifying the configuration of the system and that simplify the solution of the equation of motion. If these variables are independent of each other (independent variables), then the number of independent generalized coordinates is determined by the number of degrees of freedom of the system