1.I.9C
Part II, 2005
A particle of mass is constrained to move on a circle of radius , centre in a horizontal plane . A second particle of mass moves on a circle of radius , centre in a horizontal plane . The two particles are connected by a spring whose potential energy is
where is the distance between the particles. How many degrees of freedom are there? Identify suitable generalized coordinates and write down the Lagrangian of the system in terms of them.