Abstract:
Friction is, in general, a very complicated function of velocity. The treatment in textbooks of mechanical systems with friction is limited to the simplest cases, and there are few examples of a canonical approach to these systems. In this work, we discuss some general aspects of systems with friction of the form f = -m lambda v(n) and add some examples of their canonical treatment, which we hope will be useful in advanced courses on mechanics. We also discuss a difference in the motion accordingly if the exponent in the friction force is n < 2, or n >= 2.