Rigid-body motion, interacting billiards, and billiards on curved manifolds

Journal Article · Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1996 · Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.53.5670· OSTI ID:286107

Chatterjee, R; Jackson, A D; Balazs, N L ^[1]

---

1. Department of Physics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794-3800 (United States)

It is shown that the free motion of any three-dimensional rigid body colliding elastically between two parallel, flat walls is equivalent to a three-dimensional billiard system. Depending upon the inertial parameters of the problem, the billiard system may possess a potential energy field and a non-Euclidean configuration space. The corresponding curvilinear motion of the billiard ball does not necessarily lead to a decrease of the stable periodic orbits found in the analogous rectilinear system. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}

• Research Organization: New York State University Research Foundation
• DOE Contract Number: FG02-88ER40388
• OSTI ID: 286107
• Journal Information: Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics, Journal Name: Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 53; ISSN 1063-651X; ISSN PLEEE8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

66 PHYSICS
BOUNDARY-VALUE PROBLEMS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MOTION
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
RIGID BODIES