A Lagrangian Formulation for Nonconservative Linear Systems Which Satisfies Hamilton's Principle

A Lagrangian formulation for nonconservative linear systems is presented, and it is shown that this formulation satisfies Hamilton's principle. This treatment has two advantages over the standard treatment after Lord Rayleigh: 1) it applies to a wider class of problems (radiation damping is included), and 2) it includes a demonstration that the Lagrangian formulation satisfies Hamilton's principle, which brings a larger body of systems under one postulate.