physics-sims

A collection of interactive physics simulations built using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python. Web visualizations primarily leverage the Three.js library for 3D rendering.

Simulations Included

1. General Relativity - Spacetime Deformation (general-relativity.html)

• Description: Simulates the warping of spacetime (represented by a grid) due to the presence of massive objects (a central "star" and an orbiting "planet").
• Features:
  • Deformable wireframe grid representing spacetime.
  • Central and orbiting masses influencing the grid deformation.
  • Adjustable parameters for gravity strength and falloff (within the code).
  • Interactive camera controls.
• To Run: Open general-relativity.html in your web browser.

2. Solar System Simulation (Solar-System/)

• Description: An interactive model of the Solar System, including the Sun, planets, major moons, and a realistic asteroid belt, with accurate textures and orbital data.
• Features:
  • Scaled models of planets and the Sun with realistic textures.
  • Accurate orbital mechanics with adjustable simulation speed.
  • Detailed visualization of planetary features:
    • Planet atmospheres with appropriate colors and densities.
    • Earth clouds with rotation.
    • Saturn's ring system.
  • Major moons for Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune with proper orbits and rotations.
  • Asteroid belt generated from real NASA/JPL asteroid orbital data (see mpcorb_extended.json). #TODO
  • Interactive selection system - click on any celestial body to view detailed information.
  • Information panel showing physical properties, composition, and other planetary data.
  • Navigation dropdown to quickly focus the camera on specific planets, moons, or asteroids.
  • Dynamic camera controls with automatic focusing and smooth transitions.
  • Day counter tracking simulated time.
  • Beautiful starfield background with thousands of stars.
  • Enhanced lighting effects for realistic visualization.
• Technical Details:
  • Data-driven design with planetary and asteroid information loaded from JSON.
  • Optimized rendering with Three.js for smooth performance.
  • Responsive design that works across different screen sizes.
  • Scaling system that balances visual appeal with astronomical accuracy.
• To Run: Open Solar-System/index.html in your web browser.

3. Black Hole Simulation (Python) (Black-hole-simulation-using-python/)

• Description: A non‑spinning (Schwarzschild) black hole lensing simulator that distorts an equirectangular sky image by tracing photon geodesics. Includes an optional GUI for generating animations and saving precomputed matrices.
• Upstream: https://github.com/Python-simulation/Black-hole-simulation-using-python (mirrored with attribution in SOURCE.txt).
• Dependencies: numpy, scipy, matplotlib, pillow (see requirements.txt).
• To Run:
  • Create a virtual environment (recommended)
    • macOS/Linux: python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
    • Windows (PowerShell): py -m venv .venv; .\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
  • Install deps: pip install -r requirements.txt
  • Start: python black_hole.py

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Planet textures sourced from NASA public domain imagery
• Three.js library and examples that provided inspiration for rendering techniques