Lagrangian mechanics

Special Relativity and Electrodynamics (Spring, 2008)

May 5, 2008
Define the Action integral in four dimensional space-time.
Kinetic and potential energy appear in the Lagrangian.
Symmetries and Conservation Laws
Time invariance implies energy conservation.
Define the canonical momentum.
Invariance under a space transformation implies conservation of the sum of the momentum of the particles.
Topics: 
  • Action integral
  • Kinetic and potential energy
  • Lagrangian
  • Symmetries and conservation laws
  • Canonical momentum
  • Conservation of momentum and translational symmetry
  • Conservation of energy