Interactive Physics Manual
Contents
1. Position the pointer in an empty area of the screen Hold down the mouse button to create the first endpoint Drag the mouse to the desired location of the second endpoint Release the mouse button to create the second endpoint Rotational Constraints apply a twisting force torque between two objects They include Motors Gears Rotational Springs and Rotational Dampers il J All except gears include a pin joint oO motor rotational damper Ee gears Fi rotational spring If a rotational constraint is drawn over a single mass object it will attach the mass object to the background beneath behind it If a rotational constraint is drawn over two overlapping mass objects it will attach to both objects To draw a rotational constraint Select the tool or constraint you wish to draw Position the pointer in over the mass es you wish and click once Joints connect two mass objects and constrain their motion relative to one another This includes Pin Joints Rigid Joints and Slot Joints Pin Joints allow rotation while forcing points on two different mass objects to overlap Rigid Joints lock two mass objects together To create a Pin or Rigid Joint Align the mass objects that will be connected by the joint Select the appropriate tool from the toolbar Click the mouse to create the joint at the proper location In the case that more than two mass objects are overlapped the joint will connect th2. level The Physical level is where you will put the Mass Objects figures drawn to represent physical objects such as tables and balls and Constraints such as springs joints and pulleys The Interface level allows you to monitor the Physical level with meters and controls This manual serves as an introduction to the capabilities of the Interactive Physics program You may want to read through it before using the software and refer back to it as needed If you find something missing there is an excellent Help section within the program and as a last resort your instructor has an official manual Have Fun and Good Luck Mass Objects Drawing Mass Objects Mass objects are geometric shapes that have a number of parameters defining their behavior In the Interactive Physics simulation program mass objects are created much in the same way as in a draw or paint program Anchoring Mass Objects The Anchor tool limits an object s motion in the environment To use Select the Anchor tool then click inside the mass object To remove the Anchor repeat this process Mass Properties Each mass object in the environment behaves according to it s own set of properties Mass properties are changed using the Properties utility window Double clicking on a mass object will bring up said window Holding down the shift key allows you to select numerous objects at once Double clicking on one of the objects with the shift key held down will b
3. Choose Appearance from the Window menu e Select the desired color for each parameter by clicking in the color pop up menu Controls Controls allow you to adjust simulation parameters before and while a simulation is running A control may take the form of a slider default a text box or a button To create a control Select the object whose properties you want to change Select the New Control menu item from the Define menu Choose the desired property Change the properties of the control by double clicking or selecting the control and choosing Properties from the Window menu iv You may change the title or color of a control by choosing Appearance from the Window menu You can specify minimum and maximum values for the slider bars Number of snaps indicates how many discrete values are available in the range of the slider A text box allows you to enter a precise numerical input of the property value Using a button you can quickly select one of the two values specified in min and max boxes A button can be a toggle switch or a press and hold button Menu Buttons Creating menu buttons allows you to place a shortcut to common commands directly on the workspace To create a menu button Ona Macintosh e Choose New Menu Button from the Define menu e Choose a command from an Interactive Physics menu On Windows e Choose New Menu Button from the Define menu e Choose a command from the list e Cli
4. Interactive Physics Manual Pieces of this manual have been shamelessly pirated from the Interactive Physics User s Manual published by Knowledge Revolution This manual is intended to be used solely as a guide in Physics Laboratory at Las Positas Community College and is not meant to be sold for profit other than to cover the cost of reproduction Mass OD E A A N aeeaestendine ON TE nui auton i CONSTANS eon a E E ETE EE E ii The Work anaa A aAA N AE EEE AO KATATA iii Running Simulations Useful Tips and Sh rtc ts niaaa e aA EA aie viii What is Interactive Physics Interactive Physics is a simulation program that allows for exploration and analysis of physical situations The student may model the physical world on any scale from atomic to astronomical and even experiment with physical situations not found in our universe The program opens up to an infinite world space limited primarily by available memory and using relatively simple paint and draw techniques a laboratory may be constructed The default settings of the program allow for nearly immediate manipulation of the real life world of tables balls springs and pulleys A bit of work will allow analysis of the orbit of Jupiter s moons The truly motivated user may create an astronomical situation where the force of gravity repels rather than attracts massive bodies The Interactive Physics world has two levels the Physical level and the Interface
5. ck OK Vectors The following properties can be represented graphically with vectors Velocity Acceleration Total force Gravitational Force Electrostatic Force Air Force Air Resistance Force Field Contact Force Friction Force Vectors that designate velocity and acceleration are always drawn pointing out from a mass object s center of mass Vectors displaying force quantities can be drawn either pointing from or toward a mass object s center Vectors that display forces encountered when objects contact one another can be displayed at the point of contact or a the mass center of each object To display vectors Select one or more objects whose vectors you want to display graphically Choose the type of vector to display from the Vectors sub menu of the Define menu The vectors will be displayed the next time the simulation is run The length of a vector may be altered by choosing Vector Lengths from the Define menu Use sliders or enter a number to adjust lengths for velocity force and acceleration vectors Vector color may be changed by choosing Vector Display from the Vectors menu m Choose inward or outward pointing vectors from the Vector Display menu Running Simulations To Run a Simulation Click Run in the toolbar or choose Run from the World menu To Stop a Simulation You can stop a simulation in various ways Click Stop in the tool palette Click the Stop icon on the tape p
6. conditions if you wish to re use the old initial conditions at some later time Recording a simulation requires a great deal of memory Interactive Physics automatically uses all available memory to store large simulations If your simulation has used up all available memory you will see the following dialogue box Tracking Tracking leaves an image trace of moving objects at adjustable time intervals You can track individual objects or all objects Objects can leave visible tracks of their outline center of mass or vectors so that you can follow the physical action throughout a simulation The tape player is full Keep running and write over the beginning of the To activate tracking tape Set up or load a simulation Choose Track from the World menu Select how often you wish to track from the Track sub menu To control which individual components of each object are tracked Select the object whose individual tracking behavior you want to define Choose Appearance from the Window menu Click on the desired tracking options vi If you want to track only one or more objects after activating Tracking select all constraints and mass objects and deselect all tracking options shown in the Appearance window Then select just the mass objects and constraints you want to track and check the tracking options you want enabled for those objects Running multiple simulations with multiple tracks The default behavior for In
7. e A truss constructed of small mass objects connected by rods will simulate more quickly than a truss constructed of pinned rectangles Make your window size smaller A smaller window size requires less graphics processing time Recording a Simulation If the tape player memory is full you can continue running your simulation in several ways Close other Interactive Physics documents to make more memory available to the tape player Make more memory available to Interactive Physics Let the tape player loop and continue running the simulation Increase the time step of the simulation resulting in more spacing between frames An increase in space between frames allows you to record the simulation for a longer time in the tape player When doing this the simulation may have to be run in a more accurate mode Running a Simulation Beyond What can be Recorded When the memory allocated for recording a simulation is full you can either stop the simulation or continue the simulation while erasing the initial frames of the recording Using the Settings of an Existing Simulation for a New One You can use the current condition of a simulation as the initial condition for a new simulation Drag the frame indicator to the desired starting point Choose Start Here from the World menu The current frame becomes frame zero and the original initial conditions are lost Save your simulation with a new name before setting new initial
8. e top two mass objects Forces and Torques Forces exert a linear force on a mass object at a single point Torque exerts a twisting force on a mass object Both are attached to the top most mass object lying under the pointer at the time of the click To create a Force Select the Force tool Move the pointer to the location where the force is to act on the mass object Drag the pointer to create a force object A Force can be edited by grabbing and dragging the arrow or by using the Properties utility window To move the force click anywhere except on its endpoint and drag to a new location To create a Torque Select the Torque tool Click on the mass object to which the torque is to be applied Use the Properties utility window to set the magnitude of the torque The Workspace Physical Objects and Interface Objects The Interactive Physics simulation world has two layers the Physical layer and the Interface or User layer Physical objects such as mass objects points and constraints exist on the Physical layer The Interface layer contains user objects such as meters controls sliders text boxes buttons and pictures that are not attached to a physical object The Interface layer is considered the back layer and thus it is possible to position a physical object so that it obscures a user object Viewing Options Interactive Physics provides an infinite workspace that is larger than what can be dis
9. layer controls a Click anywhere in the window if the cursor appears as a stop sign Choose Stop from the World menu Click on a Stop menu button if one exists Automatically stop the simulation using the Pause feature Macintosh only Press Command and period from the keyboard Using Tape Player Controls While playing a simulation Interactive Physics also records it using a feature called the Tape Player This allows you to play simulations backward or frame by frame to skip frames of the simulation and to play the simulation more quickly after all calculations have been completed To display the Tape Player controls Choose Workspace from the View menu Select the Tape Player Controls option Click OK F N Run Backward Frame Step Backward Step Forward Indicator Stepping Through Frames may be done in two ways Click on the forward or backward step in the tape player control to move one frame at a time Press to step forward and to step backward To select the number of frames to skip with the step controls Choose Skip Frames from the World menu Choose one of the numbers from the sub menu To skip frames for faster animation Choose Skip Frames from the World menu without letting go the mouse button Choose the number of frames you wish to skip from the Skip Frames sub menu Playing a Simulation Backward After you have run a simulation you may play it backward by clicking the play backwa
10. out tool Windows Key Action Steps forward one frame Steps backward one frame Shift Control R Runs from the last computed frame Space bar Selects the Arrow tool rR Select the Rotation tool aA Select the Anchor tool Z Select the Zoom in tool Z Select the Zoom out tool Alt Enter Ctrl I Invokes the Object Properties window Alt Backspace Undo Delete Clear Shift Delete Cut Control Insert Copy Shift Insert Paste Fl Help F2 New document Alt F4 Quit F5 Run Stop F12 Save As Shift F12 Save Control F12 Open Control Shift F12 Print
11. played on screen at one time The area occupied is called the world What you see on the screen is only a small part of the world called the view You may use the horizontal and vertical scroll bars to change your view to a different part of the world The zoom tools increase or decrease the magnification of the objects in the world iii Workspace Tools and Controls You may display the following tools and controls in your workspace Toolbar Scroll Bars Coordinates and Grid Lines Tape Player Rulers Help Ribbon These are accessed through the Workspace sub menu of the View pull down menu To choose many options at once choose Workspace A check mark next to the option name indicates the option is on The Help Ribbon is a band across the top of the workspace It displays information about the tool or object that is currently under the pointer Numbers and Units The default of the program is to use the SI metric system of units However you may change to English astronomical atomic or CGS systems by choosing Numbers and Units from the View menu Changing a system of units will affect all constants and formulas being used Defining World Parameters The Interactive Physics simulation world contains four environment parameters accessed through the World menu Gravity Air Resistance Electrostatics Force Field The default setting for Gravity is Earth 9 8 m s The default for the other
12. rd control on the tape player If you do not stop the simulation first it will stop by itself when it reaches the first frame As the animation runs backward the frame indicator moves to the left while displaying the number of the current frame of animation Speeding up Playback When a simulation is run for the first time Interactive Physics not only draws the animation on the screen but also calculates the motion For complicated simulations this may slow down the animation the first time it is run You can increase the playback speed by playing the recorded simulation again calculations are stored and need not be recalculated or by using the Skip feature Skipping increases animation speed by removing frames from the calculation Other tips for making your simulation run faster Use the Fast simulation method and set the time step to the largest value that allows stable simulation and acceptable accuracy Reduce the number of objects that are in contact Make sure to use the Do Not Collide command in the Object menu with all groups of objects that do not need to collide Set the frictional coefficients of contacting objects to 0 0 if friction is not needed in your simulation Use rigid joints to build complex objects Using two pin joints to lock objects together introduces extra simulation overhead and redundant constraints Use rods instead of ropes wherever possible Use rods instead of pinned mass objects wherever possibl
13. ring up a Properties utility window The pop up menu at the top of the utility window is labeled mixed selection This allows you to change properties for these mass objects in one fell swoop ex turn all objects material from standard to wood You may then change properties for individual objects simply by selecting the desired object from the pop up menu You may change the following properties Initial Position x y gt Initial Velocity Vy Vy Va Material Mass Static Friction Kinetic Friction Elasticity Charge Density Moment of Inertia Mass Appearance You may change the appearance of a mass object by selecting that object and choose Appearance from the Window menu You may change an object s Pattern or Color You may show an object s Name Center of Mass or Charge You may Track on object s Center of Mass with a series of dots Connect the dots with a solid line and or Track the Outline of the object Constraints There are four classes of constraints in Interactive Physics Linear Constraints have two endpoints and apply a force along the line connecting the two endpoints They include Springs Dampers Ropes Rods Separators Actuators and Pulleys ee Vee spring carta separator lL damper ape actuator Forces produced by these constraints act equally and in opposite directions upon the mass objects at either endpoint To construct a linear constraint Select the appropriate tool
14. teractive Physics is to erase tracks whenever something that may affect the results of the simulation is modified such as changing a mass object s property Disabling the AutoErase Track item in the World menu will allow simulations with multiple overlapping tracks Selecting Erase Track from the World menu will erase all tracks and refresh all meters and other objects on the Interface layer Printing Simulations You can print a frame of your simulation to any printer supported by your Macintosh or Windows system using the Print command Macintosh Printing Selecting page size and orientation Before choosing Print you can specify options for printing such as the size of the paper and the orientation of objects on the printed pages To specify print options Create or open up a simulation Choose Page Setup from the File menu The information you see in the Page Setup dialogue box varies depending on the system and printer you are using Printing After you have positioned your simulation within the window at the desired Zoom and location you are ready to print the simulation To print Open a simulation Choose Print from the File menu Click OK vii Windows Printing After you have positioned your simulation within the window at the desired Zoom and location you are ready to print To print Create or open a simulation Choose Print from the File menu Select any other Print options by clicking the Set
15. three is None Meters Measurements may be made of almost any physical property in your simulation Once you have selected a particular object look at the Measure pull down menu to see what properties are available For example for a mass object you may measure position velocity and acceleration of its center of mass All measurements are facilitated through the use of meters You may choose from digital graph or bar meters To create a meter Select one mass object point or constraint object whose properties you wish to measure To measure contact or friction force you must select two mass objects before you create a meter Choose the property you wish to measure from the Measure menu A meter with a numerical display appears To select the display mode bar graph digital for the meter click on the down arrow button on the top left corner of the meter window Click in the labeled buttons on the side of the meter to select which parameters to display You can compare the results of multiple simulations by activating the Retain Meter Values option in the World menu You may export retained meter values to another file by choosing Export Data from the File menu Specifics for Graph Meters Changing the scale of a displayed graph e Select the meter e Choose Properties from the Window menu e Enter Min and Max values for the quantity you wish to scale Changing the color of lines on a graph e Select the meter e
16. up button Click OK Useful Tips and Shortcuts Using Modifier Keys Macintosh Using the Shift Key To select more than one item hold down the Shift key while clicking the items you want Clicking on an already selected object while holding down the Shift key deselects the object Using the Option Key To maintain the rest length of a constraint while resizing hold down the Option key Using the Command Key To maintain current connections of constraints and mass objects when dragging hold down the Command key Using the Tab Key Use the Tab key to select the first value in a utility window without having to click the field Windows Using the Shift Key To select more than one item hold down the Shift key while clicking the items you want Clicking on an already selected item while holding down the Shift key deselects the item Using the Control Key Holding down the Control key while dragging the end point of a constraint will maintain its current length Control drag will also maintain current connections of constraints and mass objects viii Keyboard Shortcuts Macintosh Key Action Steps forward one frame Steps backward one frame Shift Command R Runs from the last computed frame F1 or Command Z Undo F2 or Command X Cut F3 or Command C Copy F4 or Command V Paste Space Bar Selects the Arrow tool r Selects the Rotation tool a Selects the Anchor tool Z Selects the Zoom in tool Z Selects the Zoom
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