Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
A second Hamiltonian, denoted by K, resulting from the canonical transformation of a given Hamiltonian.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: Hamiltonian mechanics
Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Blend of K + Hamiltonian; apparently popularised by a jocular comment in the textbook Classical Mechanics by Herbert Goldstein (first published 1950). "It has been remarked in a jocular vein that if H stands for the Hamiltonian, K must stand for the Kamiltonian! Of course K is every bit as much a Hamiltonian as H, but the designation is occasionally a convenient substitute for the longer term "transformed Hamiltonian""
