Gravity Sandbox
N-body gravity: place masses and watch mutual attraction evolve. Good for intuition about Lagrange-like balance, slingshots, and instability in multi-body systems.
Who it's for: Astrophysics curious learners; conceptual N-body play (not a mission planner).
Key terms
- N-body
- gravity
- superposition
- orbital mechanics
How it works
A playful N-body sandbox: every mass attracts every other mass with Newton’s law, softened slightly (ε) so close encounters stay numerically stable. Drag a body to pin it; release to let gravity take over again. When two bodies overlap, they merge — mass and momentum combine. Start with the built-in binary or clear and place your own stars. This is a qualitative toy, not a solar-system ephemeris.
Key equations
More from Gravity & Orbits
Other simulators in this category — or see all 14.
Kepler's Laws
Elliptical orbits with equal-area sweeps visualized.
Escape Velocity
Launch from different planets and see trajectory results.
Gravitational Lensing
Massive objects bending light. Visual distortion effects.
Lagrange Points L1–L5
CRTBP effective potential; L1–L5; Coriolis test particle.
Earth–Moon Tides
Equilibrium tide bulges; orbit speed; ~12.4 h spacing note.
Binary Star (circular)
COM orbits; r₁,r₂; Kepler T² ∝ a³/(M₁+M₂).