The Digital Demo Room
Two-Dimensional Hydrodynamics Simulator

Intermediate Level User

M17, the Omega Nebula
Credit: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (USCS/LO), M.Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA

Stars are born in cold molecular clouds, out of gas gathered together by gravity. This page allows you to experiment with a numerical simulation of this process. It evolves a two-dimensional numerical model of a cold, self-gravitating, magnetized cloud in real time.

Just set the parameters for the calculation below, and submit.

You'll receive a color animation of the density field, after a short delay.

 
 
Set number of Jeans Lengths (strength of self-gravity):

Set the ratio of the Alfven speed to sound speed (strength of magnetic field):

Numerical resolution (the larger it is, the longer you wait):

Now submit!

or