• Add new objects by double-clicking (slowly).
• Move objects by clicking and dragging.
• Throw objects (change the velocity) by Shift-clicking and dragging.

About RingWorld

r = radius of the RingWorld (meters)
g = apparent gravity at the surface of the ring
v = velocity of ring at the surface (meters/second)
t = period of rotation (seconds)

How to Use

• Press Jump to have the balls fall off of their platforms.
• With Lock Viewpoint you can view the simulation from afar, watching the ring rotate freely. Or you can attach (lock) yourself to the ring so the rotation appears to stop.
• Buttons with letters in brackets [p] have keyboard short cuts. For example, you can pause the simulation by typing 'p' (or spacebar, too). If it does not appear to work, click inside the ring and try again.
• To add balls to the simulation, double-click anywhere inside the ring, or press the Random button to have a ball placed randomly. New balls will appear with a line under them. This is a stationary platform that rotates with the ring.
• Show Velocity Vectors will draw arrows indicating the direction the balls would travel if left alone. Shift-Click and drag a ball to change its velocity. Press the Shift key and hold the mouse button down over a ball and it will turn red. Move the mouse in the direction you want the ball to travel, and a line will appear indicating the velocity vector you are adding to the ball's current velocity.
• Click on Edit World to see the dimensions of the world. Change the radius and the apparent gravity and see what happens.
• If there's just too much stuff in the world, you can always start over with Reset.
• Speed and zooming are controled with the four buttons on the top right. The speed multiplier is shown in the upper left. For example, '2x' means that time is passing twice as fast as in real time.
• Turn on Constant Speed to keep the simulation speed steady even if the animation frame rate starts slowing down. Adding too many objects and trails to the animation will slow your machine down, but this mode will compensate and keep the world rotating at a constant rate.
  Why not always use this mode? This mode uses constant feedback to maintain the simulation speed. So if the computer hiccups, you will see the simulation jerk forward to catch up. This correcting feedback can result in jerky animation if the browser does not give the applet consistent time to run. I don't trust browsers so it is left up to you turn the mode on if necessary. Experiment and see what works best.

Things to Try

• Turn on Trails and Velocity Vectors, and unlock the viewpoint. Notice how the trail curves, but the ball continues in a straight line. Turn off the trails to prove that the balls are indeed moving in a straight line.
• Lock the viewpoint and zoom in to grab a ball. Shift click a ball and drag it towards the middle to toss the ball in the air. See if you can get the ball to land in the same place it started. Pausing the simulation can help in setting the velocity vector of the ball (or multiple balls at once).
• Turn on Velocity Vectors and drag a ball around. Notice how its velocity changes depending on the distance from the center. Why does it change?
• Even though each ball is travelling at a constant velocity, why do the dots in its trail spread out as if it were accelerating as it approaches the ground? [answer]

Bugs and Enhancements

Curators: Al Globus and Bryan Yager
NASA Responsible Official: Dr. Ruth Globus		Last Updated: July 10, 2002
If you find any errors on this page contact Al Globus.