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{zero point nine} personal experiments, etc.

Processing - 3D Spiral Patterns

Thumbnail - Click me Click to run demo

I've recently started learning Processing, using basic particles. In this demo, the three-dimensional patterns that can emerge by changing parameters can be quite complex and unexpected, and sometimes strange attractor-like.

The algorithm governing the particle motion is very straightforward. New particles are created with a starting orientation which rotates linearly on 2 axes over time. On each frame, a given amount of x, y, and z rotation is added to each particle and then the particle is translated according to its orientation by a steadily increasing distance.

Click on the buttons in the bottom right corner to change the order that the x, y, and z rotations are applied (which creates very different results from each other). The 3 sliders on top-left control the amount of rotation added per frame; the two sliders in the middle control the rate of 'spin' for the initial orientation of new particles; and the slider on the right controls the 'speed' that particles move away from the point of origin.

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