Devlog #54 – Wave 34: Rock Cycle, Supernova & Tidal Forces

Release Stats

New Simulations

Rock Cycle — Design Notes

The rock cycle is a fundamental concept in geology — the continuous transformation of rocks between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic forms driven by Earth’s internal heat and surface processes. Rather than a static diagram, this simulation uses an animated flowchart where particles continuously travel along the transition paths.

Node Layout & Visual Depth

Six nodes are positioned to suggest geological depth: Magma sits at the bottom of a layered background gradient (dark red representing the mantle/lower crust), Metamorphic and Intrusive Igneous float in the mid-crust, and Sediments, Sedimentary, and Extrusive Igneous appear near the top (surface zone). Two dashed horizontal lines mark the boundaries.

Bezier Particle Flows

Each of the 11 transitions is a quadratic bezier curve with a perpendicular control-point offset proportional to min(70, len × 0.28). Up to 200 particles travel simultaneously along these curves; each carries a t parameter incremented per frame, wrapping at 1 to restart the trip. Eruption events (transitions to Extrusive Igneous) and completed cycle events (Metamorphic → Sediments) are counted in the stats panel.

Interactivity

Clicking on a node within its hit radius selects it and displays a side-panel showing 3–4 real-world rock examples and a brief formation summary. The speed slider (1–5×) scales all particle velocities.

Supernova — Design Notes

Supernovae are among the most energetic events in the universe, releasing ~10⁴⁴ J in a matter of seconds and seeding the interstellar medium with the heavy elements from which planets (and people) are made. This simulation focuses on the Type II core-collapse pathway.

Phase System

Five discrete phases are managed by a phase integer (0–4). Manual phase buttons let users jump to any stage; “Auto” mode advances through them on a timer, triggering the collapse and explosion automatically. The “Explode!” shortcut jumps directly to Phase 3 regardless of current state.

Onion Shell Layers

During the Red Supergiant and Core Collapse phases, five concentric gradient circles represent the layered nuclear-burning shells (H-shell, He-shell, C/O, Si/S, Fe core) that accumulate during advanced stellar evolution. The innermost layer collapses during Phase 2, with collapseAnim shrinking the stellar radius to ~15% before explosion.

Ejecta & Remnant

The explosion spawns 300 + 4×mass particles in random directions with speeds 40–160 px/s. Particles are colour-coded by element layer: blue (H/He), green (C/O), yellow (Si/S), red (Fe core), white (shock front). After the shockwave leaves the canvas, the remnant phase shows either a pulsating neutron star with dual pulsar beams or a black hole with an orange accretion disk, depending on whether the progenitor mass exceeds 25 M☉.

Tidal Forces — Design Notes

Tidal forces arise from the gradient of gravitational attraction across an extended body. They are responsible for the ocean tides on Earth, the volcanic activity on Io, the heating of Enceladus, and — at the extremes — the complete disruption of satellites orbiting too close to their host planet. The Roche limit is the critical threshold below which the tidal force exceeds the satellite’s own self-gravity.

Roche Limit Formula

The simulator uses the rigid-body Roche limit d = 2.44 × Rp × (ρp / ρs)1/3. Three satellite presets change the satellite density: rocky (3.0 g/cm³), icy (1.0 g/cm³), and loose rubble (0.3 g/cm³), giving Roche limits at approximately 1.6×, 2.4×, and 3.9× the planet radius respectively.

Tidal Ellipse

The moon is rendered as a scaled ellipse. The stretch factor is computed from a simplified tidal formula proportional to Rsat / d3 and capped at 4. The ellipse is always aligned along the planet–moon axis with the perpendicular axis squashed by 1/stretch. Arrowheads on both ends of the major axis indicate the direction and magnitude of the tidal stretch.

Debris Ring

When the orbital distance slider is dragged below the Roche limit (distFactor < 1.0), 80 debris particles are spawned around the orbit radius with slight scatter and independent angular velocities. The moon disappears and the debris orbits the planet, visually mimicking the formation of Saturn-like rings.

Ukrainian Translations

All three simulations ship with complete Ukrainian (UK) versions at /uk/rock-cycle/, /uk/supernova/, and /uk/tidal-forces/. UI labels, info panels, phase names, satellite type buttons, and educational text are fully translated. The physics and rendering code is identical between EN and UK pages.

• Ukrainian terms used: “Магма”, “Осадові породи”, “Метаморфічні породи”, “Головна послідовність”, “Колапс ядра”, “Межа Роша”, “Пухкий уламковий”.
• Pause/Play buttons: “Пауза” / “Грати”; Reset: “Скинути”.

What’s Next — Wave 35 Preview

The backlog still has many unbuilt simulations. Candidates for Wave 35 include:

• Harmonograph — dual-pendulum Lissajous figure plotter with frequency and phase controls (math / physics).
• Sand Dune — aeolian saltation and dune migration simulation (earth / geology).
• Coral Reef — colony growth and bleaching simulation driven by temperature (biology / ecology).

All Wave 35 simulations will ship with EN + UK pages on launch day.