Project Ideas - Yun Chung Lu

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Project Ideas

1. Roller Coaster Simulation - I was thinking of making a "roller coaster" simulation where given a random track, one could set the velocities at different time intervals t_n, and where one could change the acceleration due to gravity at different points. Essentially, I'm thinking of something along the lines of [1], but instead of changing the track, which is randomly generated, I would be changing the velocity of the cart and the acceleration due to gravity. The simulation could test whether the roller coaster would be able to go anywhere or if it would be able to crash. Chung Lu 06:51, 29 September 2008 (PDT) It will always be able to crash, but whether or not it does crash depends on a bunch of things, like its centre of gravity, the spacing of the wheels, how they are attached to the track and so on. In the end, of course, the question of "crashing" is really a question of whether it comes off the tracks, and you need to calculate the criteria for that. The physics in this case is pretty simple; it wouldn't require much in the way of "computation". I wouldn't go changing the acceleration due to gravity. -- Jess 22:22, 3 October 2008 (PDT)
2. Rubber ball simulation - given an initial speed with all components known, is it possible to design a simulation where the ball would drop at the given initial speed, land on a generated surface, and bounce back (and back and back...) with a different velocity? Absolutely. And this can get quite interesting if you use a high coefficient of restitution and take the rotational degrees of freedom into account. See "putting English on the ball" in pool, or "bending it" in soccer, or curve balls in baseball. I am particularly fond of the bouncing behaviour of a "superball", especially when thrown under a flat tabletop.... -- Jess 22:22, 3 October 2008 (PDT)
3. How about a simulation where an object is confined in a room and then be subject to various forces in different directions, and the simulation would display the results at various times t_n? Chung Lu 06:51, 29 September 2008 (PDT) This is easy. Last year a student did it with many spherical objects, with interactions between them, and got cool effects like condensation and crystal formation. You could either ask his permission to "extend" his code or try to replicate the simpler parts in a different language. (He used Java.) -- Jess 22:22, 3 October 2008 (PDT)