Sensitive orbital dynamics
Three-Body Chaos
Small changes. Vastly different futures. Explore a universe with no simple script.
Launch Simulation ↗GRAVITATIONAL FIELD · ILLUSTRATION
THE PHYSICS
A closer look.
Mutual forces continuously change all three trajectories.
aᵢ = Σⱼ G mⱼ (rⱼ − rᵢ) / |rⱼ − rᵢ|³
G is the gravitational constant, M and m are masses, r is separation, c is the speed of light, and b is impact parameter where applicable.
What you can learn
- Explore sensitivity to initial conditions
- Inspect energy and momentum diagnostics
- Experiment with non-circular trajectories
Default bodies
Atlas, Echo and Nova
GRAVITATIONAL FIELD · ILLUSTRATION
Finite-step Newtonian integration; encounter safeguards can limit extreme user-created configurations. Long-term chaotic paths are sensitive to initial conditions and numerical precision.
Space fabric illustrates gravitational influence; it is not a numerical solution of the full Einstein field equations. Visual sizes can be enlarged independently of physical collision radii.