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- about orbitX
-
- OrbitX is a tool for examining the behavior of objects
- ( or balls ) that orbit other objects. There are three basic
- types of behavior you can model with orbitX:
- 1. Epicyclic orbits. Set one ball orbiting the "x",
- and another ball orbiting that ball. When you add balls into
- orbitX, each ball will automatically orbit the previous ball,
- displaying this sort of epicyclic behavior.
- 2. Recursive orbits. Set the first ball orbiting the
- second ball, and set the second ball orbiting the first ball.
- You will need to use very small radii for all the balls
- involved in a recursive set. Note that the position of the
- "x" does not affect the paths of recursively orbiting sets.
- 3. Proximal orbits. Set the center of a ball ( other
- than the first ball ) to "closest", and it will orbit either
- the "x" or the closest ball to it that is larger than it is.
- This would cause the first ball to orbit only the "x", and
- the second ball to switch back and forth between orbiting the
- "x" and the first ball.
- The three types of behavior can also be combined to
- create more complex behavior.
-
-
- OrbitX (c) 1990 Harriet Lurie
-