Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-physics-i-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/1/b/solution

Let and be the lower and upper azimuthal angles, measured from a common fixed direction. The squared spring length is
By Hooke's law, a spring with zero natural length has potential energy . Therefore
Constant gravitational energies can be omitted. It is useful to define the moments of inertia , and the angular coupling . The part of the potential that affects motion is simply . In particular, changes the constant spring energy but not the angular equations, because the spring has zero natural length.

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