Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-b-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/paper-1/section-b/b7/a/solution

A normal mode of a linearized mechanical system is a motion in which every generalized displacement oscillates at a single common angular frequency, with fixed relative amplitudes and phases. In coordinates , an undamped oscillatory mode may be written
where the amplitude vector is fixed; negative components describe relative phase . An arbitrary small motion is a linear combination of the normal modes when the mode vectors form a complete basis.

New to topics? Read the docs here!