Three-Body Problem
Gravitational chaos — sensitive dependence on initial conditions
Configuration
Preset
Figure-8 (stable)
Random
Sun-Planet-Moon
Equal triangle
Time step
0.5
Steps/frame
5
Trail length
200
Perturbation ε
0.001
Reset
Pause
Toggle Shadow System
Three-Body Problem:
No general closed-form solution (Poincaré, 1890). Only ~20 periodic families known (Chenciner-Montgomery 2000: figure-8).
The shadow system (dashed) starts with a tiny perturbation ε — watch trajectories diverge exponentially.
Lyapunov time: characteristic timescale for exponential separation. Solar system: ~5 Myr.
Time:
0
Separation:
—
Energy drift:
—