Gauss's principle of least constraint

Carl Friederich Gauss

Heinrich Hertz

Gauss and Hertz devised variational principles of mechanics

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${\displaystyle {\textbf {F}}={\frac {d}{dt}}(m{\textbf {v}})}$ Second law of motion
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The principle of least constraint is one variational formulation of classical mechanics enunciated by Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1829, equivalent to all other formulations of analytical mechanics. Intuitively, it says that the acceleration of a constrained physical system will be as similar as possible to that of the corresponding unconstrained system.^[1]