This is a simulation of the N-Mice problem, which is presented as the paths
that "N" mice which are standing evenly distributed around a circle with a
particular radius would take if they were all trying to reach the mouse on
their right hand side. It turns out that mathematically they never reach
each other, however physically they do. The paths they create are in spiral
form, This application can simulate up to 20 mice, in theory it could do
much more, however the visual effect of the nice spirals really begin to
dissipate after about 20 mice. The simulation assumes each mouse as being
an independent particle in 2D space, each particle (mouse) follows the
particle on its right hand side, with an attraction force that is
calculated via Newton's formula of matter to matter attraction. There are
many other ways to implement this problem, a full mathematical definition
of the problem and other possible solutions can be found at mathworld.
|