README.md

Phy6

An open-source simulator electric charges and electric fields constrained within a 2-dimensional plane

Table of Contents

• Synopsis
• Build Instructions
• Usage
• License
• Libraries Used
• Demos
• Credits and Contributors

Synopsis

This project is intended to get a more intuitive grasp of electrostatics, especially the concepts that would be covered in a undergrad course on computer science. No complicated algorithms have been used, the project works completely based on calculating forces and displacements over very small timesteps.

Build Instructions

• Install the SDL2 library
• Use CMake to build the project and run the executable

cmake -B build
cmake --build build

Usage

• The only argument is the path to the JSON file to parse for input.
• If no argument is given, the examples/simple.json is loaded.
• Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to zoom in and out, and W-A-S-D to move the camera around
• Refer the JSON files in the examples/ folder for information on writing custom configurations.

Libraries Used

• SDL2 for graphics and windows excluding UI https://github.com/libsdl-org/SDL
• cJSON for loading configs from files https://github.com/DaveGamble/cJSON
• sdl2-cmake-modules, for easy loading of SDL2 libraries https://gitlab.com/aminosbh/sdl2-cmake-modules
• SDL_FontCache for text rendering https://github.com/grimfang4/SDL_FontCache
• VT323 Font by Peter Hull (obtained from Google Fonts) https://fonts.google.com/specimen/VT323

Demos

Simple:

Cyclotron:

Circular motion under B:

Credits and Contributors

All forms of contributions are welcomed!