Two-Body Orbits JS Model

APS Excellence in Physics Education Award
November 2019

Science SPORE Prize
November 2011

The Open Source Physics Project is supported by NSF DUE-0442581.

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Two-Body Orbits JS Model

written by Wolfgang Christian

The Two-Body Orbits JavaScript Model shows the motion of two objects (e.g., binary star or moon-planet system) interacting via Newton's law of universal gravitation. It is designed to teach physics, Earth science, and environmental science topics by showing the spatial path of objects around their common center of mass (barycenter). Default units are chosen for Earth obit about our Sun so that the distance unit is one astronomical unit and the time unit is one year.

The Two-Body Orbits JS Model was developed using the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) version 5. Although EJS 5 is a Java program, it can create stand alone JavaScript programs that run in almost any PC or tablet browser.

.zip

download 537kb .zip
Published: September 4, 2013
previous versions

1 ready-to-run example is available

1 ready-to-edit example is available

Open Two-Body Orbits JS Source Code in Web EJS

1 source code document is available

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - Gravity = Kepler's Laws = Orbits = Universal Gravitation - Motion in Two Dimensions Mathematical Tools - Differential Equations	- Lower Undergraduate - Middle School - High School - Upper Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Interactive Simulation

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners - Educators	- text/html - application/zip - application/javascript	Currently 5.0/5 Rated 5.0 stars by 1 person Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
License:: This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No derivatives 3.0 license.
Rights Holder:: Wolfgang Christian
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created September 4, 2013 by Wolfgang Christian
Record Updated:: February 1, 2021 by Wolfgang Christian
Last Update when Cataloged:: September 4, 2013

Error in speed?

Author: Kristen Larson
Posted: January 31, 2021 at 5:28PM

I think that there is a factor of 2 error in the speed. Two 0.5 m_sun stars separated by a = 1 AU in circular orbits should have orbital speeds of pi AU/year, not 2pi AU/year.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/OSP/items/detail.cfm?ID=12996">Christian, Wolfgang. "Two-Body Orbits JS Model." Version 1.0.</a>

AIP Format

W. Christian, Computer Program TWO-BODY ORBITS JS MODEL, Version 1.0 (2013), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12996&DocID=3573).

AJP/PRST-PER

W. Christian, Computer Program TWO-BODY ORBITS JS MODEL, Version 1.0 (2013), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12996&DocID=3573>.

APA Format

Christian, W. (2013). Two-Body Orbits JS Model (Version 1.0) [Computer software]. Retrieved October 10, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12996&DocID=3573

Chicago Format

Christian, Wolfgang. "Two-Body Orbits JS Model." Version 1.0. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12996&DocID=3573 (accessed 10 October 2024).

MLA Format

Christian, Wolfgang. Two-Body Orbits JS Model. Vers. 1.0. Computer software. 2013. 10 Oct. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12996&DocID=3573>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Author = "Wolfgang Christian", Title = {Two-Body Orbits JS Model}, Month = {September}, Year = {2013} }

Refer Export Format

%A Wolfgang Christian %T Two-Body Orbits JS Model %D September 4, 2013 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12996&DocID=3573 %O 1.0 %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Computer Program %A Christian, Wolfgang %D September 4, 2013 %T Two-Body Orbits JS Model %7 1.0 %8 September 4, 2013 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=12996&DocID=3573

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Two-Body Orbits JS Model:

Is the Basis For EJSS Two Body Circular Orbits Model

Changes made by lookang include

added the invisible mass for which the binary system's motion are derived from.
added the velocities v1x, v1y and v2x v2y
added velocities checkbox
added units labels clearly showing units a.u. and year
added combo drop-down list for ease of use
added numerical values for sense making such as F1, F2, a1, a2, R1 and R2 v1 and v2
made forces a bit longer to see more clearly

relation by wee lookang

Is Based On Easy Java Simulations Modeling and Authoring Tool

Use the Easy Java Simulations Modeling and Authoring Tool to edit and to explore the source code for the Two-Body Orbits JS Model.

relation by Lyle Barbato

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