Past exam of the physics B course of the University of Cambridge / 2010 / Paper 2A / Section C / C11

For a Lagrangian $\mathcal{L}=T-U$, the Euler-Lagrange equation is $d(\partial \mathcal{L}/\partial \dot{q})/dt=\partial \mathcal{L}/\partial q$ for each unconstrained generalized coordinate. For example, $\mathcal{L}=m{\dot{x}}^2/2-k{x}^2/2$ gives $m\ddot{x}+kx=0$ for a spring oscillator.

For a uniform solid sphere, slicing into disks normal to the rotation axis givesUse total dumb-bell mass $M$ and $\ell =L-r$. Since both centres lie on its spin axis, its moment of inertia about that axis is $2M{R}^2/5$. If $\theta$ measures displacement from the bottom of the track, rolling without slipping imposes spin speed $|\dot{\varphi }|=\ell |\dot{\theta }|/r$. The rolling inside a fixed circular cylinder therefore hasThe equation of motion and its small-amplitude limit areWith $g=9.81\mathrm{m}{\mathrm{s}}^{-2}$ and the given lengths, $\boxed{T=2\pi /\omega \simeq 80.5\mathrm{s}}$. If the centre rises by height $h$, conservation of energy at the bottom givesThe speed expression uses exact height-energy conversion within the ideal rolling constraint; only the period formula uses the small-angle approximation.