Classical Mechanics - Rigid Body Mechanics : Motion of Symmetric Top Under The Action of Gravity

The symmetric top that has been discussed in this video is approximated to a variety of rigid bodies,like the child’s top,gyroscope etc. The first integrals of motion are obtained by using Lagrangian formulation. The top is fixed at one point,so that the three Euler’s angles are the suitable generalized coordinates. Apart from the translational motion the top executes three different types of motion,namely,Precession,Nutation and Spin. The final expression for energy when solved,involves the use of elliptic integrals which tend to introduce complexity. Therefore some other ways must be found out which describe the phenomenon qualitatively.