Gravity Lab — N-Body Orbital Mechanics Simulator

Gravity Lab — N-Body Orbital Mechanics Simulator

This gravity lab simulates real gravitational n-body systems using Newtonian mechanics with scenarios from the Earth-Moon system to binary stars and escape trajectories. Select any body to adjust its mass and velocity components with sliders, then watch orbit trails, velocity vectors, and optional gravity-well visualizations update in real time. A bottom panel plots kinetic and potential energy versus time and shows orbital data for the selected body, including distance, velocity, escape velocity, and circular orbital velocity.

What you can do in this simulation

• Choose from 5 scenarios: Earth-Moon, Sun-Earth, Inner Planets, Binary Stars, Escape Trajectory
• Select any body and adjust its mass (kg), Vx, and Vy with sliders
• Toggle orbital trails, velocity vectors, and gravity-well visualizations
• Control simulation speed from 0.1x to 5x
• View live energy graph (kinetic and potential) for the selected body

Concepts covered

Newton's law of gravitation · orbital mechanics · escape velocity · n-body problem · gravitational potential energy · Kepler's laws

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Related reading

• Newton's Laws Simulation: Explore Force, Motion, and Momentum Online
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