Solar Sim

A gravitational N-body simulation with interactive parameters.
Can you balance the system?

Controls and Interactions

Control	Action	Effect in Simulation
Left Click + Drag	Pan view	Moves viewport without affecting simulation
Mouse Wheel	Zoom in/out	Adjusts view scale for observing different scales of interaction
WASD Keys	Camera movement	Alternative pan controls for precise viewport adjustment
Space	Pause/Resume	Freezes/unfreezes particle motion while maintaining system state
R	Reset simulation	Returns to initial conditions with current parameter values
Add Mass Button	Enter mass placement mode	Allows adding new gravitational bodies

Parameters and Their Effects

Parameter	Range	Definition	Simulation Effect
Time Speed	0.1 - 10.0	Simulation speed multiplier	Higher values accelerate simulation but may reduce accuracy
Particles	10 - 1000	Number of orbiting bodies	Affects computational load (O(n²)) and system complexity
Velocity	0.1 - 5.0	Initial orbital velocity multiplier	Controls escape velocity ratio; affects orbit stability
Mass	0.1 - 100.0	Base mass for orbiting particles	Influences gravitational interactions and visual size
Softening	0.1 - 10.0	Close encounter stability factor	Prevents numerical instabilities at cost of accuracy
Time Step	0.001 - 0.1	Integration time interval	Smaller values increase accuracy but slow simulation
Central Mass	100 - 5000	Primary body mass	Determines system's gravitational center strength

Large-Scale Considerations

The following parameters become significant in larger astronomical simulations but are simplified or omitted in this demonstration:

1. Relativistic Effects

   • Light speed limitations
   • Gravitational time dilation
   • Space-time curvature

2. Physical Properties

   • Angular momentum
   • Tidal forces
   • Radiation pressure
   • Gas/dust dynamics

3. Computational Optimizations

   • Barnes-Hut tree algorithm
   • Fast Multipole Method
   • Parallel computation
   • Adaptive time stepping

4. Environmental Factors

   • Dark matter effects
   • Galactic tidal forces
   • Interstellar medium interactions