Pendulum Visualizer
About the appThis visualizer is meant to imitate the physics experiment shown here, in which pendulums on strings of varying length are set into motion simultaneously. I found the resulting visual beats to be mesmerizing, so I wrote a highly tweak-able version in code.
The visualizer starts off approximating the real world fairly accurately (if you accept the small-angle approximation for the sine function) and expands into areas of pure mathematics. All of the modes are visually interesting, and patterns pop up everywhere. |
About the codeThe pendulum visualizer is written in Python, and currently runs on an in-browser platform called Codeskulptor. It uses a custom library called simplegui to render the graphics.
I wrote this as a student in a Coursera course called Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python I'm in the middle of porting this code to run as a standalone desktop app, with rewrites to make it much cleaner. |
Available versions
In-browser
The browser version cannot be downloaded directly, but rather is hosted by Coursera. To start the visualizer, follow the link below and click the "Play" button at the top left of the page. I encourage you to play with the interactive options on the left sidebar. There are some interesting effects to be had. Patterns will always appear if you watch long enough. Notes:
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Desktop
The desktop version is under construction. I will upload it here when it's presentable. |
Screenshots

Pendulum Visualizer by Emily Wachtel Charles is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.codeskulptor.org/#user12_1JVbGCWzEwylxdY.py.