Newtonian Collision less Gravity Simulator
Newtonian Collision less Gravity Simulator (NCGS) is a program made to simulate the interaction between celestial bodies due to a force called gravity. As the name suggests, the simulator is based on Newtonian Gravity, and it is assumed thatcollisions between objects do not occur. The assumption that collisions never happen is based on the fact that the size of celestial bodies are very small compared to the distance between celestial bodies. The other assumption is that celestial bodies are point-sized.
What information does a NCGS need in order to make a simulation? There are several pieces of information required in order to make a simulation with a gravity simulator, they are :
- Gravity Constant
- The mass of celestial objects
- The position vector of celestial objects
- The velocity vector of celestial objects
Why do I see celestial objects colliding in an NCGS, but act as though they never collide? Since the distance between celestial bodies, even inside a planetary system, is astronomical compared to the size of celestial bodies themselves, the size of the icons representing each celestial bodies are thus not drawn to scale. If we are to make a true scale simulation, with one pixel sized icon representing earth, then we would need 12500 pixels to represent the distance between Earth and the Sun ( I think this is greater than the maximum resolution of most monitors, or the maximum resolution that common Graphic Accelerator can handle ). So objects seemingly collide in NCGS, have a high probability of not actually colliding.
The Math behind NCGS
Download NCGS Program and Source Code here
Preview
Inner Solar System (Plus Jupiter) without Trailing
Inner Solar System (Plus Jupiter) with Trailing
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