Python is not a good programming language to develop physics engines in. (It is too slow.) However, we are just playing around so it is good enough for that (I hope).
Project #1
Create a physics engine. Pick an action and create the engine for it. Be sure to keep it simple. This is just an exercise to become familiar with physics engines and what they do.
Read/view the links below (and others). Then pick out a small piece to code your self. For example,
- One ball bouncing off the floor (up and down, with gravity).
- One ball bouncing around inside a box. (No gravity.)
- What happens when the two balls collide? (One in motion and one stationary, or both in motion.)
- One ball falling under the acceleration of gravity (Do it in slow-motion so we can see it happening?)
- Two balls falling at the same time in two different gravity fields. (See the difference.)
- Two balls bouncing at the same time in two different gravity fields. (See the difference.)
- ...
Note: The dot product of two vectors can simplify the code.
To see Python code testing the dot product of two vectors
click HERE
.
Links
Designing a Physics Engine in 5 minutes (YouTube)
Coding a Physics Engine from scratch! (YouTube)
What Kind of Math Should Game Developers Know? (YouTube)
Physics engine (Wikipedia)
Intro and Vectors for Physics Programming - Let's Make a Physics Engine [00] (YouTube)
Gravity
The standard acceleration of gravity (g) on Earth is approximately 9.81 m/sec2 (or 32.2 ft/sec2). It is formally defined as 9.80665 m/sec2. Earth's Gravity varies slightly based on location, altitude, and the Earth's shape.
The following are the g-force (gravity) you would experience on another planet if you were standing on the surface or, in the case of the ice giants, floating in the atmosphere.
| Planet | Fraction of Earth's g-force |
|---|---|
| Mercury | 0.38 g |
| Venus | 0.9 g |
| Earth | 1 g |
| Moon | 0.17 g |
| Mars | 0.38 g |
| Jupiter | 2.53 g |
| Saturn | 1.07 g |
| Uranus | 0.89 g |
| Neptune | 1.14 g |