THE MOTION OF A POINT MASS ALONG A VIBRATING STRING

The Cauchy problem for a system of equations which described the undet ached motion of a point mass along a string is considered. The problem can be reduced to an initial-value problem for two integro-differenti al equations. If the initial velocities of the points of the string ar e zero, the problem reduces to the Cauchy problem for a system of thre e first-order ordinary differential equations. The problem with zero i nitial displacements is much simpler. The case of an impact along the string is considered in detail. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rig hts reserved.