Theoretical Mechanics II - Homework 2

Due date: Apr. 9th, 2018

Problem 1. (20 pts) Warm-ups.

(a) Prove the following property: Tr (AB) = Tr (BA).
0 0
(b) A vector ~r is being rotated to ~r in the reference frame S, ~r = U~r where U is the
rotation matrix. The same rotation matrix represented in the other reference frame S 0 is U.
(i) Show that the sum of eigenvalues of U and U is the same. (ii) Show that the product of
eigenvalues of U and U is the same.
(c) Show that for an orthogonal matrix, all eigenvalues have unit modulus and eigenvectors
are orthogonal.
(d) One commonly proposed solution to simulate gravitational effect in space is to use a
rotating space station (centrifugal force), see figure below. If an astronaut jumps straight
up (normal to the inner surface), will the astronaut land in the front or back the spot the
astronaut jumped up (or land on the same spot)? Explain your answer without mathematics.

Problem 2. (20 pts) Two coordinate systems S and S 0 are related by a rotation (i.e., the
axes in S frame can be rotated to be aligned with axes in S 0 frame by U). More specifically,
the unit vectors of S 0 frame are related to the unit vectors of S frame by
2 2 1
x̂0 = x̂ + ŷ − ẑ,
3 3 3
2 1 2
ŷ 0 = x̂ − ŷ + ẑ,
3 3 3
1 2 2
ẑ 0 = x̂ − ŷ − ẑ.
3 3 3
(a) Find the rotation matrix U in the S frame that relates these two coordinate systems.
(b) Find the rotation axis and the corresponding rotational angle in the S frame that rotates
xyz axes of S frame to x0 y 0 z 0 axes of S 0 frame.

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(c) Find the representation of the rotation matrix U in the S 0 frame.
(d) Similarly, find the rotation axis and the corresponding rotational angle in the S 0 frame
that rotates xyz axes of S frame to x0 y 0 z 0 axes of S 0 frame.

Problem 3. (40 pts, Coriolis force) A launch site of a spacecraft launching company is
located at north hemisphere of latitude λ. An rocket of mass m is launched with zero initial
velocity vertically upward where we choose the coordinate axes x, y and z to represent east,
north and up direction in the Earth frame. For simplicity, ignore the centrifugal and Euler
forces in the following discussions. The angular frequency of Earth rotation is Ω.
(a) The velocity of the rocket, ~v = (vx , vy , vz )T , changes with time since it is subject
to Coriolis force, gravity, and thrust force. Obtain coupled equations of motion that
d~v /dt = L ~v + ~at , where ~at is a constant net acceleration (due to thrust and gravity) in the
z-direction, ~at = (0, 0, 2g)T .
(b) Find the eigenvalues (λ1 , λ2 , λ3 ) and corresponding eigenvectors (~v1 , ~v2 , ~v3 ) of matrix L.
(c) Let’s choose the eigenvectors obtained above to be our new bases, obtain an expression
of ~at in the new bases.
(d) In the new bases, the equations of motion are decoupled. Solve the general solution for
velocity as a function of time. That is to obtain a general expression for ~v (t).
(e) Estimate the altitude, deflection distance in the east-west direction and north-south
direction of the rocket two minutes after the launch given that λ = 60◦ and Ω = 7.3 × 10−5
rad/s.

Problem 4. (20 pts, Foucault pendulum) A pendulum swings back and forth in a plane
(2D motion, say it swings in x-z plane). However, if it is placed on the surface of Earth,
the plane of the swinging motion (x-z plane) would slowly rotate. It was demonstrated by
French physicist Léon Foucault in 1851 to show the rotation of Earth. Please show that the
time the Foucault pendulum required to go back to its initial plane (that is the precession pe-
riod) is 2π/(Ω sin λ), where Ω is the angular frequency of Earth rotation and λ is the latitude.