Hamilton's Principle and Lagrangian Mechanics
Barker, Daniel · Maryland Shared Open Access Repository (USMAI Consortium) · 2008
“Hamilton’s Principle and Lagrangian Mechanics” explores an application of differential equations to classical physics. The paper is an introduction to the formulations of mechanics developed by William Rowan Hamilton and Joseph Louis de Lagrange. In certain situations, these approaches are superior to the ubiquitous Newtonian mechanics. The derivation and philosophical underpinning of both Hamilton’s and Lagrange’s method are also discussed.