QUESTION 4.
Z
(4a) A straight, frictionless wire AB is fixed at point A, such that it rotates about the z axis, making a constant angle a to that axis. A bead of mass m is able to move along the wire. Show that the coordinates of the bead can be written x = r sinacoswt, y = r sinasinwt, z = h -r cosa, where r is the distance of the bead from point A, h is the z coordinate of the fixed point A, and the wire is in the xz plane at time t = 0 [10 marks].
4b) Find the time derivatives of c, y and z, and use these to show that the Lagrangian of this system is L = m[r2 + w2r2 sin2 a] - mg[h - r cos a] [10 marks].
(4c) Use the above Lagrangian to derive the equation of motion for the bead along the wire. Comment on the physical meaning of each term in this equation [10 marks].