Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2025/paper-2/7/b/solution

The quadratic Lagrangian is diagonal in , so the Euler-Lagrange equations give two pure translations and one pure rotation. Their angular frequencies are
A horizontal translation has ; a vertical translation has ; and the rotational mode has . Any fixed-direction translation is another choice in the same two-dimensional degenerate normal mode space. The rotation keeps the centre fixed.
Figure 1.
Two degenerate translations and a separate rotation of a disk on symmetric radial springs
. Original schematic of the three normal modes; arrows indicate the independent motions, and the dashed disk marks the equilibrium position. Details.

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