Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-classical-mechanics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/2/b/i/solution

For a vector in the principal body frame, the derivative of a body-fixed basis vector is . Differentiating the expansion gives the rotating-frame derivative formula, also called the Coriolis formula:
Apply this to angular momentum . The principal moments of inertia are constant in the principal body frame, so external torque balance becomes
Resolving the cross product gives Euler's equations:
All components and dotted components in this display refer to the principal body frame.

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