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Lagranges Equations
Dale E. Gary
NJIT Physics Department
Problem 6.19 y(x) (x2,y2)
y
q Statement of the problem:
(x1,y1)
n A surface of revolution is generated as follows: Two fixed
points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) in the x-y plane are joined by a x
curve y = y(x). [Actually, youll make life easier if you start
out writing this as x = x(y).] The whole curve is now rotated
about the x axis to generate a surface. Show that the curve
ds
for which the area of the surface is stationary has the form
y = yo cosh[( x xo ) / yo ],
where xo and yo are constants. (This is often called the soap-bubble problem, since
the resulting surface is usually the shape of a soap bubble held by two coaxial
rings of radii y1 and y2.)
q Solution:
n What we have to minimize now is not a line, but rather a surface, dA = y d ds.
n We could write this
2 x2
A = 2 yds = 2 y 1 + y( x) 2 dx,
1 x
but then both Euler-Lagrange terms will
1
be non-zero. Instead, follow the hint:
2 y2
A = 2 yds = 2 y 1 + x( y) 2 dy,
1 y1
so
f and
d f d yx yx
= 0, = =0 =C
x dy x dy 1 + x2 1 + x 2
n Squaring, we have (
y 2 x2 = C 2 1 + x2 . )
Solving for
C
n x = .
2 2
y C
n Integrating
C dy du y
x= dy = = C = C arccosh + xo .
y2 C2 y2
1 u 2 1 C
C2
n The statement of the problem wants y(x), so we have to solve for y, to get
y = yo cosh[( x xo ) / yo ],
where we identify C = yo.