Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2024 / Paper 2 / 7 / a

Use the bead angles ${\theta }_1,{\theta }_2,{\theta }_3$ as generalized coordinates. The straight-line spring length between two beads follows from the law of cosines:The hoop is horizontal, so the gravitational potential energy is constant and can be omitted. The kinetic energy is $(m/2){\sum }_i{\dot{\theta }}_i^2$, giving the LagrangianAt ${\theta }_i^0=\Theta +2\pi (i-1)/3$, every spring has its natural length, so the potential energy is zero and its first derivatives vanish. This is an equilibrium for every constant $\Theta$. It is stable against relative displacement because each spring energy is nonnegative; the overall rotation is a neutral direction.