Newton’s Cannon
Initial speed = 3000 m/s
Sound effects
This interactive HTML5 simulation is based on a thought experiment and illustration from Isaac Newton's A Treatise of the System of the World. It was specifically inspired by this Java version by Michael Fowler and Drew Dolgert. The simulated experiment shows how the motion of a familiar projectile like a cannon ball is fundamentally the same as the orbit of a celestial body like the moon.