Learning · physics simulator
Interactive 3D three-body problem simulator
Free browser simulator for watching 3D three-body orbits, with presets and many settings people find fun. Critics note energy isn't conserved and orbits often fly apart.
Summarized from 27 comments.
Free browser simulator for watching 3D three-body orbits, with presets and many settings people find fun. Critics note energy isn't conserved and orbits often fly apart.
- recommend
- 20
- criticize
- 5
- months recommended
- 3 of 13
Why people love it
Fun to play with · 3
Simple to use, surprisingly solid, and just a pleasure to poke around with.
Nov 2025 · commentit is a really fun sim, I think I will let my kid play with it
Nov 2025 · commentI spent a long time playing with the sim. Nice work.
Nov 2025 · commentBeautiful and mesmerizing to watch · 3
So beautiful, I once had a similar idea, and I'm glad to see someone bring it to life
Nov 2025 · commentthe default simulation played out beautifully on-load
Dec 2025 · commentsome are mesmerizing to watch
Nov 2025 · comment3D presets are standouts · 2
The 3D presets are the standout here, especially the ones that move in and out of the orbital plane.
Nov 2025 · commentLove the presets! The Broucke one is my favourite
Dec 2025 · commentMany adjustable settings and mass inputs · 2
Love this. It's not obvious from the UI but you can enter small mass changes and watch things slowly fall apart.
Dec 2025 · commentColor me impressed! I love the ammount of settings you can play with.
Nov 2025 · comment
What people warn about
Bodies fly off to infinity · 3
Random3D seems to always have all the stars heading off to infinity.
Mar 2026 · commentall three objects were suddenly ejected with a very high velocity.
Nov 2025 · commentthey yeet out of existence far far away
Mar 2026 · comment
What hackers pick instead
- Gravity solar system simulatorBrowser solar-system simulator people find fun to explore and useful for learning orbits and scale. Caveat: on mobile, text panels cover much of the screen and hide the sun.23recommend
- Falstad Math and Physics SimulationsA free collection of interactive math and physics simulations that run in the browser, recommended for students and anyone who wants to explore wave and physics behavior visually.6recommend
- Newton's OrchardA browser-based space and gravity playground that people say helps newcomers understand the physics through its dynamic visualization, with visuals that one commenter found on par with Stellarium.5recommend
Every quote
The 25 most detailed of 27 comments. Each links to the original.
Love this. It's not obvious from the UI but you can enter small mass changes and watch things slowly fall apart.
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “N-Body Simulator – Interactive 3 Body Problem and Gravitational Physics”
The 3D presets are the standout here, especially the ones that move in and out of the orbital plane.
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
So beautiful, I once had a similar idea, and I'm glad to see someone bring it to life
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
Simple to use, surprisingly solid, and just a pleasure to poke around with.
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
Color me impressed! I love the ammount of settings you can play with.
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
it is a really fun sim, I think I will let my kid play with it
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
the default simulation played out beautifully on-load
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “N-Body Simulator – Interactive 3 Body Problem and Gravitational Physics”
I spent a long time playing with the sim. Nice work.
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
Love the presets! The Broucke one is my favourite
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “N-Body Simulator – Interactive 3 Body Problem and Gravitational Physics”
some are mesmerizing to watch
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
Random3D seems to always have all the stars heading off to infinity.
Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Show HN: I built an interactive 3D three-body problem simulator in the browser”
all three objects were suddenly ejected with a very high velocity.
Criticizes · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
they yeet out of existence far far away
Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Show HN: I built an interactive 3D three-body problem simulator in the browser”
It's one of those things that seems so obvious and yet actually seeing it is a really important step in understanding.
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
Clearly, no conservation of energy here (at least when the bodies are arbitrarily close to each other).
Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “N-Body Simulator – Interactive 3 Body Problem and Gravitational Physics”
The grid lines look pretty good in 3D but the orbits themselves aren't as sharp
Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
I love the animation. Unfortunately can't see it fully
Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Show HN: I built an interactive 3D three-body problem simulator in the browser”
this looks really nice on a 240 Hz display
Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “N-Body Simulator – Interactive 3 Body Problem and Gravitational Physics”
Anyway, it's a nice online resource.
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
nice to be able to export json too
Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Show HN: I built an interactive 3D three-body problem simulator in the browser”
This is cool thanks for sharing.
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
There is also this fun website
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
This is amazing! Nicely done!
Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Show HN: Browser-based interactive 3D Three-Body problem simulator”
Seems like there is no way to actually make those collide with each other.
Criticizes · Dec 2025 · in “N-Body Simulator – Interactive 3 Body Problem and Gravitational Physics”
The ui covers more than half my screen on mobile browser
Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Show HN: I built an interactive 3D three-body problem simulator in the browser”
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