How is the velocity vector related to the angular velocity and position in the proof?

The velocity vector v\vec{v} (or its component x˙i\dot{x}_i) is related to the angular velocity ω\vec{\omega} and the position vector x\vec{x} by the fundamental equation for a point in a rigid body rotating about a fixed point: v=ω×x\vec{v} = \vec{\omega} \times \vec{x}

In the context of the proof you're viewing, this cross-product is expressed in component form using the Levi-Civita symbol (ϵijk\epsilon_{ijk}) and the Einstein summation convention (where repeated indices are summed over).

Component Relationship

The component form for the ii-th component of the velocity v\vec{v}, which is x˙i\dot{x}_i, is:

x˙i=(ω×x)i=ϵipqωpxq \dot{x}_i = (\vec{\omega} \times \vec{x})i = \epsilon{ipq}\omega_p x_q

  • x˙i\dot{x}_i is the ii-th component of the velocity vector v\vec{v}.

  • ωp\omega_p is the pp-th component of the angular velocity vector ω\vec{\omega}.

  • xqx_q is the qq-th component of the position vector x\vec{x}.

  • ϵipq\epsilon_{ipq} is the Levi-Civita symbol, which is 1 for an even permutation of (i,p,qi, p, q), -1 for an odd permutation, and 0 if any two indices are the same.

  • The repeated indices pp and qq imply a summation over all p,q{1,2,3}p, q \in \{1, 2, 3\}.

This expression allows the proof to substitute the velocity x˙k\dot{x}k in Step 2 with terms involving ωp\omega_p and the position coordinates xqx_q, which is essential for relating the time derivative of the inertia tensor (I˙ij\dot{I}{ij}) to the term ϵijkωjIklωl\epsilon_{ijk}\omega_j I_{kl}\omega_l.

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