Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-methods-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2013/8/e/solution

For , a nonzero normal mode satisfies . With , its determinant is . Hence the normal modes of a double pendulum with a two-to-one length ratio have
The slow mode is in phase and the fast mode out of phase. The general small motion is their superposition with independent amplitudes and phases; ordinary frequencies are .

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