Atom collisions simulation

Settings
Start/Stop button
The top right button is for starting and stopping the simulation.

World dimensions (width and height)
The world dimensions are for setting the size of the world's simulation. If the world size is too and/or too wide, then scrollbars are automatically shown.

Background colour
The background colour allows you to choose the world's background colour. Although any colour is allowed, some colours may make the atoms harder to see. White and black backgrounds give a high amount of contrast, making the simulation clearer.

Tot atoms
The total amount of atoms in the simulation. The more atoms, the slower the simulation. Also, if you choose too many atoms, they may not fit in the world.

Radius (min and max)
The minimum and maximum radius can be used to set the random size of each atom. If you choose the minimum and maximum the same, then all atoms are the same size. Note that the atoms have no mass, so bigger atoms have the same amount of energy in a collision compared to smaller atoms.

Colour mode : fixed
In fixed mode, the colour of an atom is determined randomly at the start and will not change.
- You can specify two of the three colour factors to determine how many atoms have those colours.
- You can set either an absolute number, or a percentage. Here are some examples:
    123 means exactly 123 atoms will be that colour (if there are enough atoms).
    12.34% means that 12.34 percent of the atoms will be that colour (if there are enough atoms).

Colour mode : speed
In speed mode, the colour of an atom is determined by its speed.
The average speed of all the atoms is approximately 1.0 pixels per step.
After every collision, the speed of an atom can change, and therefore its category can change.
The colour factors are the speeds in pixels per step of the simulation.
- Colour 1 is the colour of the slow atoms.
- Colour 1 factor specifies the maximum speed of an atom to belong to the slow atoms category.
    For instance, 0.75 means that every atom moving slower than 0.75 pixels per step will be colour 1.
- Colour 2 is the colour of the average speed atoms.
- Colour 2 factor cannot be specified, because it is simply all the atoms which are neither fast nor slow.
- Colour 3 is the colour of the fast atoms.
- Colour 3 factor specifies the maximum speed of an atom to belong to the slow atoms category.
    For instance, 1.25 means that every atom moving faster than 1.25 pixels per step will be colour 3.

Full screen mode
By clicking the 'maximize window' button in the top right of the window you can switch to full screen mode. When in full screen mode, you can press the ESC key to return to windowed mode.
To toggle between full screen mode on and off you can also click the right mouse button

Examples

Example 1
Have every atom be the same size.


Have atoms be different sizes.



Example 2
Scrollbars when the world is larger than your window.


Non-square world dimensions.



Example 3
Speed mode, where atoms change colour depending on their current speed.
Colour 1 is the maximum speed of slow atoms (for instance, speed < 0.75).
Colour 2 is every average speed atom (for instance between 0.75 and 1.25).
Colour 3 is the minimum speed of fast atoms (for instance, speed > 1.25).


Fixed mode, where atoms have the same (fixed) colour from the start.



Example 4
We can also do many atoms.


When you have too many atoms, the simulation behaves more like a plasma.



Example 5
100'000 atoms on a 4k screen in full screen mode (so no window border and no user interface controls).
Restore windowed mode by pressing the ESC key.



Example 6
By clicking the left mouse button anywhere in the world view all atoms will spawn from that location.
You can for instance click near the center of the world view.


For a different effect, you can also click near a corner of the world view.



Example 7
Follow a single atom by setting one of the factors to 0, and another to 1 with a distinctive colour.


Follow a few atoms by making them a distinct colour compared to the bulk of the atoms.