Springs

Hooke's Law

Force is proportional to displacement

K = spring constant

d = displacement from rest length

Spring is modeled as 2 point masses, linked by the spring

Equal but opposite force is applied to each end

When spring is stretched, spring force pulls masses together

When spring is compressed, spring force pushes masses apart

Vector between the two points is used to compute both the displacement and the direction of the force:

    Vector3 v = point1 - point0;
    float displacement = v.length() - restLength;
    v.normalize();
    Vector3 force = springConstant * displacement * v;

Example: spring0.cpp

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