Abstract
The number of degrees of freedom f of a system represents the number of coordinates that are necessary to describe the motion of the particles of the system. A mass point that can freely move in space has 3 translational degrees of freedom: (x,y,z). If there are n mass points freely movable in space, this system has 3n degrees of freedom.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Greiner, W. (2010). Degrees of Freedom. In: Classical Mechanics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03434-3_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03434-3_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-03433-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-03434-3
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)