The online game promoting the book “What If? 2” by Randall Munroe, author of the xkcd comics, is a simple space simulator that can also be used to explore key concepts in physics. The game begins with a rocket on a small planet, and players can use keyboard arrows to start the rocket, rotate the spacecraft, and explore other planets.
One of the features of the game is a recreation of Newton’s cannonball, a thought experiment about the connection between a fast-moving projectile and orbital motion. The game also involves the concept of gravity, as there is a gravitational interaction between any two objects that have mass.
The article further explains the physics of orbital motion, including the gravitational force between two objects and the force required for an object to move in a circle. The game demonstrates that for a particular orbital radius, there is only one velocity that will work.
Key Takeaways:
- The online game promoting the book ‘What If? 2’ by Randall Munroe, allows players to explore key concepts in physics through a simple space simulator.
- The game allows players to experiment with concepts such as gravity and orbital motion, drawing on Newton’s thought experiment about the connection between a fast-moving projectile and orbital motion.
- The game demonstrates that the gravitational force between two objects decreases with the square of the distance between them, which is significant for understanding orbits.
“The game works like this: You start off with a rocket on a very small planet. Click on the rocket to start, then you can use the arrows on your keyboard to turn on the thruster, rotate the spacecraft, and find other planets and a few fun things that are mostly inside What If jokes. That’s it. That’s the game. It’s silly and fun, and I love it.”
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