User talk:2603:8080:1D00:6600:3D7E:DD47:140C:859C

motivation needed
This page is what I call dry. It offers no motivation why I should use this approach. Even when comparing to Newtonian mechanics, it is using things, which are not necessary -- e.g. Tensor mathematics. I still don't understand why I should complicate things by changing from an ODE to a more complicated approach of trying to identify a minimizing function. I understand this approach for calculating the hanging curve of a rope. But I don't understand it for what you're suggesting. Identifying all forces involved leading to a differential equation is natural for me -- equilibrium of forces. But why the integral of the difference of potential energy and kinetic energy should be minimized is unclear to me. What about friction? The existence of friction would yield something which is not included in this approach. So is this approach only applicable for systems without friction? But then the difference between potential and kinetic energy should be constant and there is no need to find a minimum. Please make this page useable for people, which come here to try to understand it. People which already understand it, don't need to come here.

Considering only a single point of mass is also not a motivation for Lagrangian mechanics as it can also be applied in Newtonian mechanics.