Hamilton's Principle In Engineering Applications

Hamilton's Principle In Engineering ApplicationsHamilton's Principle is a powerful unifying principle that cuts across many disciplines in physics. It easily addresses problems in mechanics, electrical circuits, acoustics, and a host of other areas. The really important aspect is the way that it deals with mixed systems, such as electro mechanical systems, electro acoustic systems, etc. It is also very useful in dealing with problems that combine both continuous and discrete elements within the

Hamilton's Principle is a powerful unifying principle that cuts across many disciplines in physics. It easily addresses problems in mechanics, electrical circuits, acoustics, and a host of other areas. The really important aspect is the way that it deals with mixed systems, such as electro-mechanical systems, electro-acoustic systems, etc. It is also very useful in dealing with problems that combine both continuous and discrete elements within the same model.

The keys to dealing with Hamilton's Principle are (1) the Principle of Virtual Work and (2) the Calculus of Variations. Traditionally, neither of these topics is very well taught at the undergraduate level, and consequently Hamilton's Principle is is usually considered to be beyond the reach of people with only a baccalaureate degree. This is unfortunate because there is really no reason for this to be the case, provided that one has a solid grasp of basic calculus.