Wikipedia: Lagrangian

The Lagrangian L of a system is simply the kinetic energy minus the potential energy:

: L = T - V

Though this seems an uninteresting quantity, it is the basis of much of classical mechanics. Let L be a function of q and q′, a generalized position variable and its time derivative. The Euler-Lagrange equation is

: ∂L/ ∂q = d/dt (∂ L/∂ q′ )

If L is a function of more than one position variable q_i and its time derivative, there is one Euler-Lagrange equation for each q_i. It can be shown that this is equivalent to Newtons Laws of Motion. In practice, it is often easier to solve a problem using the Euler-Lagrange equations, by choosing appropriate generalized coordinates to exploit the symmetries of the system.

Principle of Least Action

The action, denoted by S, is the time integral of the Lagrangian:

: S = ∫ dt L

Let q₀ and q₁ be the position at respective initial and final times t₀ and t₁. Using the [calculus of variations]?, it can be shown that the Euler-Lagrange equation is equivalent to the statement that the system undergoes the trajectory between t₀ and t₁ that minimizes the action. This is known as the Principle of Least Action, and written as

: δ S = 0

Thus, instead of thinking about particles accelerating in reponse to applied forces, one might think of them picking out the path with the least possible action.

Feynman's [path integral formulation]? extends the Principle of Least Action to quantum mechanics. In this formulation, particles travel every possible path between the initial and final states; the probability of a specific final state is obtained by summing over all possible trajectories leading to it. This point of view is influential in modern particle physics, and underlies much of quantum field theory.

A quantity related to the Lagrangian is the Hamiltonian?, denoted by H. It is equivalent to the total energy function, T + V; formally, H is obtained by performing a Laplace transform on the Lagrangian. The Hamiltonian is a particularly ubiquitous quantity in the usual (not path integral) formulation of quantum mechanics.