Skydiving simulation with Perl

FREE FALL

Article from Issue 85/2007
Author(s):

Computer game programmers apply physical formulas and special tricks to create realistic animations. Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL), which is available as a Perl wrapper, provides a powerful framework for creating simple 2D worlds with just a couple of lines of code.

After ripping an old VHS cassette of my tandem skydive, posting it on YouTube, and mailing the link [2]to a couple of guys at work, a debate about the physical laws that apply during a parachute jump ensued.
In a simplified model that ignores crosswinds, the jumper starts with a vertical speed of vy = 0 and immediately starts to accelerate because of gravity. Drag, which grows proportionally with the skydiver’s downward speed, counteracts gravity. Depending on the skydiver’s weight and proportions, a balance of forces occurs at around 180 km/ h, and the downward speed becomes constant. At this point, skydivers feel like they are floating in space, and this state continues until the chute opens, which feels like they are being pulled upward with a rope.

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Skydive

    If you don't speak fluent Ethernet, it sometimes helps to get a graphical view of what your network is doing. Skydive offers visual insights that could reveal complex error patterns.

  • Perl: Controlling a Webcam

    Webcams are useful for monitoring. Using CPAN modules and custom-made C code, Perl scripts can automatically adjust the exposure and fish the most interesting images out of a video camera’s data stream.

  • Perl: Retouching Photos

    In many cases, whole series of digital images need the same kind of modifications, which forces the photo-grapher to repeat the same steps time and time again in GIMP. Have you ever considered retouching in Perl?

  • Perl: Optical Character Recognition

    SecurID tokens use an authentication system by RSA Security to give the user a valid key for logging onto the target system. A home-grown optical character recognition tool in Perl monitors the key generator.

  • DIY Scoreboard

    We look at a broadcast video system network that uses Python code to control a video router and check out another program that creates a scoreboard.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News