Hence the typical Lagrange’s equation may be now written in the form

d (∂Τ ) −∂Τ = −∂V ,
dt ∂q˙r∂qr ∂qr

(13)

or, again,

ṗr = − (V − Τ).
∂qr

(14)

It has been proposed by Helmholtz to give the name kinetic potential to the combination V − Τ.

As shown under [Mechanics], § 22, we derive from (10)

= Q1q˙1 + Q2q˙2 + ... ,
dt

(15)