- #1
silverwhale
- 84
- 2
Homework Statement
Show that:
[tex] \frac{dx^\nu}{d \lambda} \partial_\nu \frac{dx^\mu}{d \lambda} = \frac{d^2 x^\mu}{d \lambda^2} [/tex]
The Attempt at a Solution
Well, I could simply cancel the dx^nu and get the desired result; that I do understand.
But what about actually looking at this term alone:
[tex]\partial_\nu \frac{dx^\mu}{d \lambda}, [/tex]
calculating it and multiplying with dx^nu/dλ, can I get the same result? I get confused by the question: what if the partial derivative acts on the tangent vector; what happens then?
Thanks for your help!