Step-by-step guides that take you from a blank canvas to a working simulation — with the equations explained along the way.
Launch objects at different angles, apply drag, and verify the range formula. A perfect first experiment — no maths beyond GCSE required.
Build a simple pendulum, verify T = 2π√(L/g), then add a second bob and watch deterministic chaos emerge from two nearly identical starting conditions.
Put a planet in circular orbit from scratch, derive Kepler's third law empirically, and explore escape velocity and gravitational slingshots.
Drop objects from different heights, measure time-to-ground, verify g = 9.81 m/s², then add a drag coefficient and see why a feather and a hammer land together on the Moon.
Lock a body into circular orbit using a radial force, measure the centripetal acceleration a = v²/r, and find out what happens when the string snaps — or the speed doubles.
Launch two wave sources, map their interference pattern, and locate the nodal lines. Visualize constructive vs destructive interference and derive the path-difference formula.
Attach a mass to a spring, release it, and verify Hooke's law F = –kx. Measure the period, plot phase-space diagrams, and add damping to see energy decay.
Verify conservation of momentum in elastic collisions. Why does pulling two balls always release exactly two on the other side? Build it and find out.
Move a wave source and a receiver, measure the observed frequency shift, and verify f' = f(v ± vₒ)/(v ∓ vₛ). Extend to sonic booms and Mach cones.
Design a roller coaster track and verify conservation of energy at every point. Calculate the minimum height needed to complete a loop and visualise KE↔PE conversion.
Place positive and negative charges in a field, trace the electric field lines and equipotential surfaces. Verify Coulomb's law by measuring force vs separation.
Move a conductor through a magnetic field, measure the induced EMF, and verify Faraday's law ε = –dΦ/dt. Build a simple generator and visualise Lenz's law braking.
Build a two-star system that orbits their common centre of mass. Vary the mass ratio, measure orbital periods, and watch a third body get gravitationally ejected.
Simulate strong-field gravity with a massive point attractor. Map the photon sphere and ISCO, and observe particle trajectories spiralling past the Schwarzschild radius.
Find the five Lagrange points of a two-body system by placing test particles and watching them settle. Understand why L4/L5 are stable and L1/L2/L3 are not.
Simulate fluid flow through a constricting pipe, observe the pressure drop, and verify Bernoulli's equation. Add viscosity and see laminar vs turbulent flow transitions.
Roll a solid cylinder, hollow ring, and sphere down an incline. Compare their accelerations, verify the moment-of-inertia formula, and measure static vs kinetic friction.
Send a Gaussian wave-packet toward a finite potential barrier and watch part of it tunnel through classically forbidden regions. Measure transmission probability as a function of barrier width.
Apply a magnetic field to a current-carrying wire, measure the F = BIL deflection, and verify the right-hand rule. Extend to parallel wires attracting or repelling each other.
These three tutorials build on each other — complete them in order for the best foundation.