Proposed Solution by Alejandro Cárdenas-Avendaño (acardenasavendano.

org)

A bead on a rotating helical wire

A solid ball of mass mb and radius R rolls without slipping on a wedge of mass mw , inclined at angle a. The
wedge slides on the table without slipping. Use as coordinates x: position of the wedge, and s: the distance along
the wedge of the ball’s point of contact. The system is at rest with the ball located a distance s0 up the wedge. It is
then released at t = 0.

a) Find the Lagrangian of this system. Be sure to account for the rolling of the ball (you may need to look up
the moment of a solid ball).
Let x be the position of the wedge of mass mw , s the distance along the wedge of the ball’s point of contact and
f the angle of rotation of the solid ball of mass mb about its symmetry axis. The fact that the solid ball is rolling
without slipping implies that s and f are not independent, i.e.,

s Rf = 0.

We just have one contribution of the potential due to the ball,

V= mb gs sin a,

where a is the inclination of the wedge.

On the other hand, the kinetical energy has multiple contributions, due to the translational and rotational
energy of the ball and the movement of the wedge itself. The component of the particle’s velocity are

vx = ẋ + ṡ cos a
vy = ṡ sin a

Therefore

v2 = v2x + v2y
= ( ẋ + ṡ cos a)2 + (ṡ sin a)2
= ẋ2 + 2ẋ ṡ cos a + ṡ2 cos2 a + ṡ2 sin2 a
= ẋ2 + 2ẋ ṡ cos a + ṡ2

Hence, the kinetic energy of the system takes the form

1 1 ⇣ ⌘ 1
T= mw ẋ2 + mb ẋ2 + 2ẋ ṡ cos a + ṡ2 + I ḟ2 ,
2 2 2
2mb R2
where I is the moment of inertia of the ball, i.e., I = 5 .
Now, we are ready to write the Lagrangian

1 1 ⇣ ⌘ 1
L = mw ẋ2 + mb ẋ2 + 2ẋ ṡ cos a + ṡ2 + I ḟ2 + mb gs sin a (1)
2 2 2
1 1 ⇣ ⌘ 1
= mw ẋ2 + 2 2
mb ẋ + 2ẋ ṡ cos a + ṡ + I ṡ2 + mb gs sin a (2)
2 2 2R2
1 1 ⇣ ⌘ 1
= mw ẋ2 + mb ẋ2 + 2ẋ ṡ cos a + ṡ2 + mb ṡ2 + mb gs sin a (3)
2 2 5
1 1 ⇣ ⌘ 7
mw ẋ2 + m ẋ + 2ẋ ṡ cos a + mb ṡ2 + mb gs sin a
2
(4)
2 2 b 10

1
 Proposed Solution by Alejandro Cárdenas-Avendaño (acardenasavendano.org)

b) Identify cyclic coordinates and conserved momenta.

From the Lagrangian (1) we see that x is a cyclic coordinate and therefore

∂L
= mw ẋ + mb ( ẋ + ṡ cos a) = K
∂ ẋ | {z }
constant
K ẋ (mw + mb )
) ṡ =
mb cos a
(mw + mb )
) s̈ = ẍ.
mb cos a

c) Find the equations of motion, and use constant to find the acceleration of the wedge.
We can calculate the EOM for the other coordinate
∂L 7
= ẋmb cos a + mb ṡ
✓ ∂◆ ṡ ✓ 5 ◆
d ∂L 7
= mb ẍ cos a + s̈
dt ∂ṡ 5

and
∂L
= mb g sin a.
∂s
Therefore
7
ẍ cos a + s̈ = g sin a
✓ 5◆
7 (mw + mb )
ẍ cos a + ẍ = g sin a
5 mb cos a
g sin a
) ẍ = .
7 (mw +mb )
cos a 5 mb cos a