title: Rayleigh-Lagrange formalism for classical dissipative systems.
abstract: It is often believed that the Rayleigh-Lagrange formalism for classical dissipative systems is unable to encompass forces described by nonlinear functions of the velocities. Here we show that this is indeed a misconception.
authors: Dipartimento di Matematica, Università di Pavia, Via Ferrata 5, I-27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors: Epifanio G
authors: EG
authors: Virga