Gravitation3D is an OpenGL based shareware program written for Windows. It started as a hobby in 2002 and was first published on the web April 29th, 2003.
The program provides a way for you to play the creator. You construct unique solar systems from scratch by adding gravitational bodies and configuring their starting properties. You then start your simulation and watch your systems evolve. Gravitation3D can provide hours of fun without even realizing you are learning! I already consider it a success because of the subtle insights I've gained from it.
Gravitation3D is geared towards the physics, space, and math hobbyist. It is also an excellent educational tool, and would be perfect for generating interest in astrophysics, or for the high school or college physics teacher who wanted to develop lesson plans around it.
Since this is a graphics intensive program, the nicer your computer and video card, the better chance you have for smooth operation. As a low end benchmark, I am able to run the program ok on my Pentium III, 500 mHz with a TNT2 video card. This computer was purchased in November, 1999. However, it is much more beautiful and satisfying to run on my 1.2 gHz computer with a GeForce2. Some might already consider this latter computer somewhat outdated.
