Mechanics → Variational Principles and Applications → Cyclic Coordinates
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Cyclic Coordinates

If a coordinate does not appear in $L$:

$$ \frac{\partial L}{\partial q} = 0 $$

Then:

$$ \frac{d}{dt}\left(\frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q}}\right) = 0 $$

This implies a conserved quantity.