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/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2025 Paper 2 7 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
The disk still has only three degrees of freedom and hence three normal modes: two centre coordinates and one in-plane rotation. Five springs alter the restoring quadratic form but add no disk coordinates. The fivefold rotational symmetry makes the translational stiffness proportional to the two-dimensional identity matrix, and makes translation-rotation coupling vanish. Therefore the two translation modes are always degenerate; the rotational mode is separate, with possible accidental equality of its frequency for particular parameters. The general formulas in small oscillations of a disk attached to prestretched radial springs apply with .
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