🌌 Solar System Simulator

Welcome to the Solar System Simulator! This project is an interactive and dynamic simulation of a solar system where thousands of particles orbit around a central sun, collide, merge, and form larger celestial bodies. Experience the mesmerizing dance of gravity and motion in a visually stunning display.

Note: This project was initially developed in one day, with subsequent enhancements and optimizations added later.

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🚀 Features

• Massive Particle Simulation:

  • Starts with 10,000 objects by default, creating a rich and dense environment.
  • The number of objects can be easily adjusted to suit your preferences or hardware capabilities.

• Realistic Physics:

  • Particles experience gravitational forces and are attracted to the sun regardless of their distance.
  • Collisions between particles result in merging, with masses and velocities adjusted according to conservation laws.

• Orbital Mechanics:

  • Particles are initialized with tangential velocities, causing them to orbit the sun realistically.
  • Initial velocities can be scaled to create more energetic orbits.

• Interactive Controls:

  • Smooth Exit: Press the ESC key or close the window to gracefully exit the simulation.

• Performance Optimizations:

  • Spatial Partitioning: Utilizes a grid-based neighbor search to optimize force calculations, significantly reducing computational complexity.
  • Distance Culling: Gravitational forces are only calculated between nearby particles, enhancing performance without sacrificing visual accuracy.
  • Object Cleanup:
    • Particles that move far from the sun are removed to maintain simulation efficiency.
    • Inactive particles resulting from collisions are cleaned up in the background.
  • Multithreading: Simulation runs efficiently, handling large numbers of particles smoothly.

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🛠️ Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Pygame
• NumPy
• Numba

Steps

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/quintant/SolarSystemSimulation.git

2. Navigate to the Project Directory:

   cd solar-system-simulator

3. Install Dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

   Note: Ensure that you have a compatible version of Python and all required libraries installed.

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🎮 Usage

1. Run the Simulation:

   python main.py

2. Interact with the Simulation:

   • Exit Simulation: Press the ESC key or click the close button on the window to exit smoothly.
   • Adjust Parameters: Modify variables in the main.py and spaceManager.py files to change the number of particles, initial velocities, and other settings.

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🔧 Configuration

You can customize the simulation by adjusting parameters in the main.py and spaceManager.py files:

In main.py:

• Number of Objects:

  NUM_OBJECTS = 10_000  # Adjust the number of particles

• Screen Mode:

  screen = pygame.display.set_mode((0, 0), pygame.FULLSCREEN)  # Fullscreen mode
  # To use windowed mode, specify dimensions:
  # screen = pygame.display.set_mode((800, 600))

In spaceManager.py:

• Initial Velocity Scale:

  space_manager = SpaceManager(velocity_scale=2.0)  # Increase for higher initial velocities

• Collision Distance:

  self.collision_distance = 5  # Adjust for collision sensitivity

• Gravitational Constant:

  G = 1e-3  # Modify to change gravitational strength

• Particle Mass Range:

  self.obj_mass = np.abs(np.random.randn(self.numObjects) * 10)  # Adjust mass distribution

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📈 Optimizations

• Grid-Based Neighbor Search:

  • Particles are organized into a grid to limit force calculations to nearby neighbors.
  • Reduces computational complexity from O(N²) to approximately O(N).

• Distance-Based Force Calculation:

  • Gravitational forces are only calculated for particles within a certain distance.
  • Ensures that distant particles do not unnecessarily consume computational resources.

• Inactive Particle Cleanup:

  • Particles that are too far from the sun or have merged are removed from active calculations.
  • Keeps the simulation running smoothly as particles merge and the number of active particles decreases.

• Efficient Rendering:

  • Particles are drawn as circles with radii proportional to the cube root of their mass.
  • Inactive particles are effectively removed from the screen to maintain visual accuracy.

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📷 Screenshots

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🧰 Technologies Used

• Python: The core programming language used for the simulation.
• Pygame: Handles rendering and user interaction.
• NumPy: Provides efficient numerical computations and array handling.
• Numba: Accelerates performance-critical functions using JIT compilation.

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🌟 Future Improvements

• User Interaction:

  • Allow spawning new particles by mouse clicks with specified velocities and masses.
  • Implement real-time parameter adjustments through keyboard input or GUI controls.

• 3D Simulation:

  • Extend the simulation to three dimensions for a more realistic representation.

• Advanced Physics:

  • Include more complex gravitational interactions and relativistic effects.
  • Implement different types of celestial bodies with unique properties.

• Data Visualization:

  • Add graphs and charts to display simulation data like particle velocities, distances, and mass distributions.

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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🙏 Acknowledgements

• Pygame Community: For providing extensive resources and tutorials on game development.
• Numba Developers: For enabling high-performance computations in Python.

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💡 Inspiration

This project was inspired by a fascination with astronomy and physics, aiming to create a visual and interactive representation of gravitational interactions in a solar system. Initially developed in a single day, it has since evolved with optimizations and enhancements to provide a more engaging and educational experience.

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📝 Contact

For questions, suggestions, or contributions, please feel free to reach out:

• GitHub: quintant

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"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." – Carl Sagan

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🗂️ File Structure

solar-system-simulator/
│
├── main.py                # The main script to run the simulation
├── spaceManager.py        # Contains the SpaceManager class and simulation logic
├── requirements.txt       # List of dependencies
├── README.md              # This file
└── LICENSE                # License information

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📝 Code Overview

main.py

• Initialization:
  • Sets up the Pygame environment and creates a fullscreen window.
  • Retrieves the screen dimensions to pass to the SpaceManager.
• Simulation Loop:
  • Runs the main loop that keeps the simulation running.
  • Handles user input to allow for a smooth exit using the ESC key.
  • Calls the iterate function from SpaceManager to update the simulation each frame.

spaceManager.py

• SpaceManager Class:
  • Manages all aspects of the simulation, including particle initialization, force calculations, collision handling, and rendering.
• Key Methods:
  • __init__: Initializes particles, assigns initial positions and velocities, and sets up simulation parameters.
  • iterate: Updates particle positions and velocities, handles collisions, and renders particles on the screen.
• Physics Implementation:
  • Gravitational Forces: Calculated using Newton's law of universal gravitation, optimized with spatial partitioning.
  • Collision Handling: Detects when particles are close enough to collide and merges them, conserving mass and momentum.
  • Velocity Initialization: Particles start with tangential velocities for realistic orbital motion, with a scalable velocity factor.

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⚠️ Notes

• Compatibility:
  • Ensure that your Python version is compatible with the libraries used, especially Numba and Pygame.
• Performance:
  • Simulating a large number of particles can be computationally intensive. Adjust NUM_OBJECTS in main.py according to your system's capabilities.
• Fullscreen Mode:
  • The simulation runs in fullscreen by default. To run it in windowed mode, modify the pygame.display.set_mode call in main.py.

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🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you'd like to contribute to this project, please:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
3. Commit your changes with descriptive messages.
4. Push your branch and create a pull request.

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📚 References

• Pygame Documentation: https://www.pygame.org/docs/
• NumPy Documentation: https://numpy.org/doc/
• Numba Documentation: https://numba.pydata.org/numba-doc/latest/
• Gravitational Physics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation

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Enjoy exploring the universe you've created! 🚀🌠