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For particles with masses $m_j$ and positions $r_j$, Jacobi coordinates consist of the total center of mass and successive relative coordinates ${\rho }_j=r_{j+1}-({\sum }_{l=1}^j{m}_l{r}_l)/({\sum }_{l=1}^j{m}_l)$. They separate translation from internal motion and diagonalize the kinetic energy with the corresponding reduced masses.