Kinetics of Particles and Particle Systems II — Integrated Forms

Abstract

In the previous chapter we considered applications of the vector equation ΣF = ma as expressed in component form, both for a particle and for a particle system. Having expressed the acceleration components in terms of the external force components, we could obtain the velocity and position of a particle or of the mass-centre of a particle system at some specified instant — given the initial conditions. Conversely we were able to determine the resultant force requiredto bring about some specified motion. A review of the problems of the previous chapter will show that if the resultant force and its variation were known, then the complete solution for both velocity and position involved two successive integrations of the expression for the acceleration.