classical mechanics simulator?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JHD
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J

JHD

Does anyone know of a good classical mechanics simulator? I'd like to find
something that would allow the construction of a modest but arbitrary
collection of solid rods with pivot points, point masses, etc., and then
allow me to apply (time varying) forces or torques and plot or display the
resulting trajectories of the components.

Thanks,
J
 
Does anyone know of a good classical mechanics simulator?

I'd like to find something that would allow the construction
of a modest but arbitrary collection of solid rods with pivot points,
point masses, etc., and then allow me to apply (time varying) forces
or torques and plot or display the resulting trajectories of the components.
Click to expand...

Cousin J ....

If you have some programming skills you might consider
Visual Python ....

http://vpython.org/

The following page provides several sample vpython programs
that will give you an idea of the types of simulations
that are possible in the realm of Physics ....

http://www4.ncsu.edu:8030/~rwchabay/mi/Public_Programs_VI.htm

An installation of the Python system itself is a prerequisite
to using Visual Python ....

ActiveState.Com provides a simple Python installation ....

http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePython/

The primary web site for the Python language itself
is ....

http://www.python.org
 
Does anyone know of a good classical mechanics simulator? I'd like to find
something that would allow the construction of a modest but arbitrary
collection of solid rods with pivot points, point masses, etc., and then
allow me to apply (time varying) forces or torques and plot or display the
resulting trajectories of the components.

Thanks,
J
Click to expand...
TMM2 does exactly what you are looking for (although it is not very easy
to use)
http://www.softpile.com/Education/Miscellaneous/Review_11828_index.html
Horst
 
Unfortunately, my programming skills are zero point zip. I wish it were
otherwise.

Thanks,
J
 
This is pretty close - and pretty good for an 18 year old programmer!
Unfortunately it's not quite flexible enough for my purposes as it won't
allow you to apply torques or forces, only force motion of one link and
observe what happens to the others. It's kinematics, not mechanics. But
thanks for the tip anyway.

J
 
Unfortunately, my programming skills are zero point zip.

I wish it were otherwise.
Click to expand...

Cousin J ....

Visual Python might be a good way to learn programming
in an area that you're interested in ....

Consider the following example for a red bouncing ball
on a solid blue plate ....

# --------------------------------------------------------------

from visual import *

floor = box( length=4, height=0.5, width=4, color=color.blue )

ball = sphere( pos=( 0 , 4 , 0 ) , color=color.red )

ball.velocity = vector( 0 , -1 , 0 )

dt = 0.01

while 1:

rate( 100 )

ball.pos = ball.pos + ( ball.velocity * dt )

if ball.y < 1:

ball.velocity.y = -ball.velocity.y

else:

ball.velocity.y = ball.velocity.y - ( 9.8 * dt )


# ---------------------------------------------------------------

This includes full 3d animation with Virtual Reality control ....

o Right-click & drag to rotate the scene

o Middle-click & drag to zoom in or out

That's not too bad for 12 lines of very readable code ....
 
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