All Questions
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Relating Brachistochrone problem to Fermat's principle of least time [closed]
When I came across the Brachistochrone problem, my teacher said we could relate it to Fermat's principle of least time.
So, we could make many glass slabs of high $\mathrm dx$, and every slab has a ...
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5
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3
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Is Principle of Least Action a first principle? [closed]
It is on the basis of Principle of Least Action, that Lagrangian mechanics is built upon, and is responsible for light travelling in a straight line.
Is its the classical equivalent of Schrodinger's ...
1
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1
answer
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Fermat's principle in classical mechanics?
I do know the principle of least action, but is it possible to formulate classical mechanics based on the principle of least time? That is, if we know the initial state $(x_i,p_i)$ of the particle and ...
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18
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7
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When/why does the principle of least action plus boundary conditions not uniquely specify a path?
A few months ago I was telling high school students about Fermat's principle.
You can use it to show that light reflects off a surface at equal angles. To set it up, you put in boundary conditions, ...
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