Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-methods-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2013-resit/10/c/solution

The total kinetic energy and small-slope elastic potential energy are
Orthogonality removes cross terms between the two distinct sine or cosine modes. A mode of amplitude contributes and . For amplitudes and , the prefactors agree. Writing ,
Thus
independent of time. This is another instance of equal modal energies for inverse-harmonic string amplitudes. An explicit initial amplitude multiplies every energy by .
Figure 1.
Two-harmonic string displacement and exchange between kinetic and potential energy
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