open encyclopedia * Article Search: * *
*
*

D'Alembert's principle

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

D'Alembert's principle is a statement of the fundamental classical laws of motion. It is equivalent to Newton's second law. It is named after its discoverer, the French physicist Jean le Rond d'Alembert.

The principle states that the sum of the differences between the generalized forces acting on a system and the generalized momenta of the system itself along an infinitesimal displacement compatible with the constraints of the system, is zero. That is:

<math> \sum_{i}\left({ {\mathbf F}_{i} - \dot {\mathbf p}_{i} }\right) \cdot \delta{\mathbf r}_{i} = 0 <math>

The principle is also known as the principle of virtual work.

ja:ダランベールの原理 sl:d'Alembertovo načelo

Contribute Found an omission? You can freely contribute to this Wikipedia article. Edit Article
Copyright © 2003-2004 Zeeshan Muhammad. All rights reserved. Legal notices. Part of the New Frontier Information Network.