The behaviour of a
pendulum of length
L with center in (0,0) in Cartesian coordinates (
x,
y) is described by the
Euler–Lagrange equations ::\begin{align} \dot x&=u,&\dot y&=v,\\ \dot u&=\lambda x,&\dot v&=\lambda y-g,\\ x^2+y^2&=L^2, \end{align} where \lambda is a
Lagrange multiplier. The momentum variables
u and
v should be constrained by the law of conservation of energy and their direction should point along the circle. Neither condition is explicit in those equations. Differentiation of the last equation leads to ::\begin{align} &&\dot x\,x+\dot y\,y&=0\\ \Rightarrow&& u\,x+v\,y&=0, \end{align} restricting the direction of motion to the tangent of the circle. The next derivative of this equation implies ::\begin{align} &&\dot u\,x+\dot v\,y+u\,\dot x+v\,\dot y&=0,\\ \Rightarrow&& \lambda(x^2+y^2)-gy+u^2+v^2&=0,\\ \Rightarrow&& L^2\,\lambda-gy+u^2+v^2&=0, \end{align} and the derivative of that last identity simplifies to L^2\dot\lambda-3gv=0 which implies the conservation of energy since after integration the constant E=\tfrac32gy-\tfrac12L^2\lambda=\frac12(u^2+v^2)+gy is the sum of kinetic and potential energy. To obtain unique derivative values for all dependent variables the last equation was three times differentiated. This gives a differentiation index of 3, which is typical for constrained mechanical systems. If initial values (x_0,u_0) and a sign for
y are given, the other variables are determined via y=\pm\sqrt{L^2-x^2}, and if y\ne0 then v=-ux/y and \lambda=(gy-u^2-v^2)/L^2. To proceed to the next point it is sufficient to get the derivatives of
x and
u, that is, the system to solve is now :: \begin{align} \dot x&=u,\\ \dot u&=\lambda x,\\[0.3em] 0&=x^2+y^2-L^2,\\ 0&=ux+vy,\\ 0&=u^2-gy+v^2+L^2\,\lambda. \end{align} This is a semi-explicit DAE of index 1. Another set of similar equations may be obtained starting from (y_0,v_0) and a sign for
x. DAEs also naturally occur in the modelling of circuits with non-linear devices.
Modified nodal analysis employing DAEs is used for example in the ubiquitous
SPICE family of numeric circuit simulators. Similarly,
Fraunhofer's Analog Insydes Mathematica package can be used to derive DAEs from a
netlist and then simplify or even solve the equations symbolically in some cases. It is worth noting that the index of a DAE (of a circuit) can be made arbitrarily high by cascading/coupling via capacitors
operational amplifiers with
positive feedback. == Semi-explicit DAE of index 1 ==