Bouncing Ball
A simulation of dropping a bouncy ball. It was inspired by this excellent sketch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYX5V_Gj-aw
The coefficient of restitution is the portion of velocity that is retained after impact, when colliding with a stationary object. (And who doesn't like a stationary floor?)
0) Run the simulation and see what you notice. What do the adjustable numbers control?
1) Is the model accurate?
2) How does the sequence of local maximums depend on the coefficient of restitution?
3) Is there a recursive or closed form expression for the bouncing points? For the local maxima?
4) How did the programmer construct the separate parabolas?