Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/prelims/mathematics-iv/3/a/solution

In cylindrical coordinates,
Differentiating the position vector twice gives the velocity and acceleration
This derives acceleration in cylindrical coordinates rather than assuming it.
At a fixed time, the wire has parametrization . Its derivative is the nonzero tangent vector
A smooth wire exerts a constraint force with . Because is the gravitational acceleration, the gravitational force is ; the printed is interpreted per unit mass. Projecting Newton's second law, , along eliminates :
The chain rule gives . Rearrangement yields
This is the governing equation for a bead on a uniformly rotating wire. Its azimuthal acceleration contributes nothing to the projection because .

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