Friction, drag, and Rayleigh dissipation functions

Statistical Physics and Complexity Group meeting

Friction, drag, and Rayleigh dissipation functions

  • Event time: 11:30am
  • Event date: 12th November 2014
  • Speaker: Chay Paterson (Formerly School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Edinburgh)
  • Location: Room 2511,

Event details

Variational methods can be a very powerful way to model conservative mechanical systems, but it is not obvious how to include dissipative forces: one technique to include these effects is Rayleigh dissipation functions. In this talk I will define the Rayleigh dissipation function corresponding to a given frictional force, explain its relationship to the dissipation of kinetic energy in the system, and with an example from my current research show how this can be used to characterise an effective unknown frictional force.