Hamiltonian function

Hamiltonian function

[‚ham·əl′tō·nē·ən ¦fəŋk·shən] (mechanics) A function of the generalized coordinates and momenta of a system, equal in value to the sum over the coordinates of the product of the generalized momentum corresponding to the coordinate, and the coordinate's time derivative, minus the Lagrangian of the system; it is numerically equal to the total energy if the Lagrangian does not depend on time explicitly; the equations of motion of the system are determined by the functional dependence of the Hamiltonian on the generalized coordinates and momenta.