Past exam of the physics course of the year 4 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2012 / Paper 1 / Section B / B1

A normal mode is a small motion in which all coordinates oscillate at one common angular frequency with fixed relative amplitudes. For conservative linearized motion, these are eigenvectors of the mass-weighted stiffness matrix.

All three springs are initially stretched from $l$ to $2l$, giving equal tension $T_0=kl$ and zero resultant force on each mass. This prestress is essential for the transverse modes found below.

For the final mixed-axis trajectory of a prestressed spring pair, the initial displacements excite only the symmetric mode in each direction. Therefore, to first order in $ϵ/l$,The second mass has the same displacements about $4l$. Over the first transverse period $T_y=2\pi \sqrt{2m/k}$, write $s=t/T_y$:The trajectory is not closed after $T_y$, because the frequency ratio is $\sqrt{2}$. It ends at approximately $(-0.858,1)$ in these scaled coordinates rather than $(1,1)$.

Let $X_1,X_2$ be longitudinal displacements. Hooke's law givesThe symmetric and antisymmetric eigenvectors are respectively $(1,1)$ and $(1,-1)$, soOrdinary frequencies are these values divided by $2\pi$.

The transverse stiffness of a stretched spring follows because a spring of length $2l$ develops transverse force $T_0\Delta y/(2l)$ to first order. Its extension changes only at second order, so the leading transverse stiffness comes from its existing tension, not from that extension change. Here $T_0/(2l)=k/2$, givingThe mode vectors are again $(1,1)$ and $(1,-1)$. Treating the springs as unstretched would incorrectly remove this linear restoring force.