Projectile Motion

This simulation models standard ground-to-ground projectile motion with no air resistance: a launch speed v₀ and angle θ split into horizontal (v₀cosθ) and vertical (v₀sinθ) velocity components, from which the real closed-form kinematics equations give the total range (R = v₀²sin(2θ)/g), time of flight (T = 2v₀sinθ/g) and maximum height (H = (v₀sinθ)²/(2g)) — the standard equations found in any introductory mechanics text, computed by `@scienceverse/simulations-core`’s real, tested `projectile` model, not an approximation invented for this page.

Three parameters are each adjustable within a scientifically valid range: launch speed (up to 1000 m/s), launch angle (0–90°, the valid range for a ground-to-ground shot), and surface gravity — spanning real surface-gravity values from the Moon (1.62 m/s²) to Jupiter (24.79 m/s², NASA Planetary Fact Sheets), letting a reader compare “the same throw” on different worlds. The full parabolic trajectory is sampled in a dedicated Web Worker — a genuinely heavier per-parameter computation than the gravity simulation’s closed-form results, which is exactly the kind of loop PRD §12’s performance rule asks to be run off the main thread. A shareable link captures the exact current parameters. Readers whose browser cannot run canvas/SVG rendering, who prefer reduced motion, or who have JavaScript disabled see the real computed trajectory and values below instead, in an accessible diagram and data table.

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