Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 2 7D c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
For nonvertical uniform precession of a heavy symmetric top, write and fix . The Euler-Lagrange equation reduces toFor its solutions areFor , uniform precession therefore requires . For , the discriminant is positive for every spin, including zero. At , the condition is , requiring nonzero spin. Once this condition holds, choose and ; both cyclic equations are then satisfied. The exactly vertical configurations are also solutions for arbitrary spin, but the azimuthal member of the Euler angles is degenerate there, so their existence is separate from this nonvertical discriminant condition.