MECHANICS, WAVES AND OSCILLATIONS

LECTURE # 1

POLAR COORDINATES
05, AUGUST-2016
BITS PILANI HYDRABAD CAMPUS

ASRARUL HAQUE

OUTLOOK
1. What is frame of reference?

2. What is coordinate system?

3. What are constant and variable unit vectors?

?
How to begin?

Motion is a kind of life possessed by all things that

exist in nature. (Aristotle)

NEWTONS THREE LAWS OF MOTION

POLAR COORDINATE

(1) Law of inertia: A body which is not acted upon by

any force will either be at

rest

or in a state of uniform

linear motion.

(2) Law of acceleration: Temporal derivative of linear

momentum of a particle equals the net force F acting
on
F
dp dp
it, i.e., F (r ,Fr ,(tr),
r , t ) .
dt

dt

(3) Law of action and reaction:

Action and reaction are equal, and in opposite
directions.

POLAR COORDINATE

SPACE AND TIME

The description of Rest and Motion proceeds with the following two
ingredients:
1. Space (x) and
2. Time (t).

SPACE: Space is something in which bodies move or rest.

TIME: Time is something that sequences the movements of bodies.

HOW TO QUANTIFY SPACE AND TIME?

POLAR COORDINATE

Motion involves a change in position or location in

space( of a body) as time progresses

Rest does not involve a change in position or location

in space( of a body) as time progresses.

Q: How to measure position or location and time?

Ans: In order to provide a quantitative description, we adopt a

procedure to assign numbers (coordinates) to locations and use clock to
measure time.

FRAME OF REFERENCE

POLAR COORDINATE

An accurate description of rest and motion requires the notion of a proper

frame of reference.
Q: What is frame of reference?
Ans: A frame of reference comprises of a set of coordinates to measure
position and clock to measure time.

Q: What kind of frame of reference is required?

Ans: We need such a frame of reference in which Newtons laws of motion
are valid.
Newtons first law suggests that a stationary or a uniformly moving frame
could serve as an acceptable frame. Such frame is called inertial frame
of reference.

COORDINATE SYSTEM

POLAR COORDINATE

Locating the position of a body relative to a frame of reference requires the

introduction of a coordinate system.

Q: How many coordinate systems do we have?

Ans: Many: Cartesian, plane polar, spherical polar etc.

However, we shall be interested in the following coordinate system:

(1) Cartesian coordinate system and
(2) Polar coordinate system.

COORDINATE SYSTEM
A coordinate system consists of:

2. Choice of axes

Origin

Axes

3. Choice of positive direction for

each axis and

4. Choice of unit vectors for each

axis.

Positive
Direction

POLAR COORDINATE

1. Choice of origin

Positive
Direction

j
i

CARTESIAN COORDINATE SYSTEM IN 2-DIMENSION

POLAR COORDINATE

( x A , y A ) Cartesian coordinates of the point A.

Ranges of x A , y A: xA , y A .
Unit Vectors :
have unit magnitude.
are mutually orthogonal.
can lead to other direction
(normal to i, j ).

i, j

i 1 j

90

i. j i j cos 90 0

( xA , y A )

A
i j i j sin 90 k k

are fixed constant vectors both di di di

dj
dj
dj

0,

0
in magnitude and direction.
dt
dx dy
dt dx dy

?
Q: Why do we need unit vectors?
Ans: Unit vectors help to set direction without altering the
magnitude of vector physical quantities such as displacement,
velocity, force, angular momentum etc..

?
Q: When do the efficacies of unit vectors i, j become more manifest?

Ans: Experience suggests that the constant unit vectors ( i, j )

which always act along fixed directions and have unit magnitude,

provide more intuitive and insightful picture and calculationally more

economical to those problems in which the direction of motion does not
change frequently and the motion continues most of the time in a fixed
direction.

?
Q: Do we need variable unit vectors against constant unit vectors
i, j ?
Ans: Yes.
Q: When do we need variable unit vectors ?
Ans: When the direction of motion
changes frequently and continuously for
instance a body moving on a curved track
changes
its
direction
of
motion
continuously.

v
m

?
How do the variable unit vectors arise?

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION

POLAR COORDINATE

Consider a particle moving in a circle of radius R with constant

velocity v.

Y
m ( x(t ), y (t ))

Position, velocity and acceleration of the particle:

X

r (t ) x(t )i y (t ) j
v x(t )i y (t ) j
a x(t )i y (t ) j
Given that:

r (t ) ( x(t )) ( y (t )) R
2

(1)

Differentiating (1) with respect to time t:

d
d 2
2
2
( x(t )) ( y (t )) R xx yy 0

dt
dt

(2)

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION

Y

POLAR COORDINATE

Note that:

xx yy 0
( xi yj).( xi yj) r .v 0

(2)

Thus:

r v ( r is perpendicular to v )

Y
v

Differentiating (2) with respect to time t:

d
( xx yy ) 0 xx yy x 2 y 2 0
dt

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION

Y

Now:

xx yy x y 0

POLAR COORDINATE

xx yy ( x 2 y 2 )

( x, y )
m

xi yj . xi yj ( x 2 y 2 ) v 2
Dividing both sides by R:

Y
v
m

x y
2
2
2
i

j
.
xi

yj

(
x

y
)

R
R
v2
x y
i j .a
R
R
R

POLAR COORDINATE

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION

x y
i j?
Q: What is this vector
R
R
Ans:

r
xi yj x y
r
i j;
r
R
R
R

r 1

Thus r is a variable unit vector because x and y are variables.

x y
i
R
R

j .a v
R

v2
v2
r.a
a r;
R
R
mv 2
F
r
R
2

Y
( x, y )
r m

a
(0, 0)

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION

POLAR COORDINATE

Q: How can you find a vector normal to r ?

Y
( x, y )
m
r
y

Ans:
We know that: r .v 0 .

Thus unit vector v along v would be normal to r.

v
v
v

x
x2 y 2

y
x2 y 2

Y
v
m

Now:
X

x R cos
y R sin

x R sin
y R cos

UNIFORM CIRCULAR MOTION

Y

POLAR COORDINATE

Now:

( x, y )
m
r
y

x y R cos R sin
r i j
i
j cos i sin j
R
R
R
R

R sin R cos

v
j
i
j
2
2
2
2
R
R
x y
x y
sin i cos j
x

or ( r, )
i, j r, v
d
d
r 0
r
dt
d

d
d
0

dt
d

Y
v
m