All Problems

Mechanical Oscillations

Problem 4.9

A particle performs harmonic oscillations along the xx axis according to the law x=acosωtx=a \cos \omega t. Assuming the probability PP of the particle to fall within an interval from a-a to +a+a to be equal to unity, find how the probability density dP/dxd P / d x depends on xx. Here dPd P denotes the probability of the particle falling within an interval from xx to x+dxx+d x. Plot dP/dxd P / d x as a function of xx.

Reveal Answer
dP/dx=1/πa2x2d P / d x=1 / \pi \sqrt{a^{2}-x^{2}}