Dynamics of a System of Particles

The principles of mechanics for a particle are extended here to a system of n discrete material points. We begin with Newton’s second law for a system of particles and formulate the momentum, impulse-momentum, moment of momentum, work-energy, conservation, and general energy principles for a system of particles. Several of the concepts introduced here are especially useful in the study (in Chapter 11) of Lagrange’s general equations for arbitrary dynamical systems, and the development of the moment of momentum principle for a system of particles provides a foundation for the independent presentation (in Chapter 10) of parallel results for the moment of momentum of a rigid body.