Gravitational N-Body

Simulates gravitational interactions between many particles. Galaxy collision preset launches two disk galaxies toward each other. Gravitational softening ε prevents singularities. Trails show orbital history. Watch tidal streams, mergers, and chaos unfold.

SIMULATION

Particles 120 Gravitational G 0.50 Softening ε 8 Trail Length 40

E: computing...

Science: N-body problem has no closed-form solution for N≥3 (Bruns 1887). Chaos: Lyapunov time for Solar System ~5 Myr. Galactic N-body: dark matter halos form via violent relaxation (Lynden-Bell 1967) into NFW profiles.

GRAVITATIONAL N-BODY

SIMULATION