Classical Mechanics (PH31207)

Tutorial 4

1. Hamiltonian for a charged particle

In the previous tutorial, we have shown the Lagrangian for a charged particle of mass m and charge
e is given by,
1
L = mṙ2 + e ṙ.A − eϕ
2
(a) From the above expression of L calculate the conjugate momentum p of the charged particle.

(b) Now construct the Hamiltonian using the above expression of p.

(c) From the above expression of Hamiltonian write down Hamilton’s equation of motion and check
dp
whether you get back the familiar equations from F = dt

2. Is Hamiltonian = Energy always ?

In this problem, we will examine under which circumstances the Hamiltonian function represents the
energy of the system.

(a) Consider a particle undergoing 1-D motion under the influence of a potential V (x) where x is a
standard Cartesian coordinate. Write down the Lagrangian L for this system.

(b) From the above expression of Lagrangian, construct the Hamiltonian H and show that it repre-
sents the total energy of the system.

(c) Now in the above 1-D setup change the Cartesian coordinate x to a new coordinate q where
x = Kq 2 . Calculate the Hamiltonian Hq in this case. Does Hq still represent the total energy of the
system?

(d) Now consider a more general coordinate transformation x(q, t) = Kq 2 t and check whether the
Hamiltonian in this case represents the total energy of the system.
(e) Show that in general for coordinate transformation of the type x = x(q) the Hamiltonian always
represents the total energy of the system given that the potential energy of the system is velocity
independent and does not have an explicit time dependence.

(f) What if instead of the simple relation x = x(q) (or equivalently q = q(x)) we also have time
dependence? That is, x = x(q, t) (or equivalently q = q(x, t))? Show that in this case, the Lagrangian
L(q, q̇, t) yields an expression for the Hamiltonian H that takes the form,

"    2 #
∂x ∂x ∂x
H=T +V − q̇ + (1)
∂q ∂t ∂t

where T and V are total kinetic and potential energy of the system respectively.

(g) You can consider a more general coordinate transformation q = q(x, ẋ, t) and repeat the above
exercise to show that H ̸= T + V .

(h) Now we apply the above results to a realistic problem. Consider a bead of mass m which is
free to slide along a frictionless hoop of radius R. The hoop rotates with constant angular speed ω
around a vertical diameter (see Fig.1). Find the Hamiltonian Hb in terms of the angle θ shown and
its conjugate momentum pθ . Is Hb the total energy in this case? Is Hb conserved?

Figure 1: Bead on a rotating hoop

(g) Show that in general if the Lagrangian is not an explicit function of time, the total energy of the
system will be conserved.