A note on Hamilton's principle for perfect fluids

Abstract

A derivation is given of the Eulerian equations of motion directly from the Lagrangian formulation of Hamilton's principle. The circulation round a circuit of material particles of uniform entropy appears as a constant of the motion associated with the indistinguishability of fluid elements with equal density, entropy and velocity. A discussion is given of the Lin constraint, and it is pointed out that, for a barotropic fluid, the variational principle recently suggested by Seliger & Whitham does not permit velocity fields in which the vortex lines are knotted.