February 21st, 2002:
Composer Hair's next project is finally underway. An undertaking of massive scope, this new piece of software will offer something that, at least of this magnitude, has never been offered before. It will be ready to download soon... that is, some time towards the end of 2003.

Because its completion is so far down the road, its exact nature won't be revealed just yet. But there's no harm in teasing you with some vague hints. Is it educational software? Not this time. Is it a game? Technically, no... Is it free? Yes and no -- this will make sense with time.

It has begun.

September 8th, 2001:
Gravitator 2 has been completed! This program is Composer Hair's magnum opus. Over a year in the making, Gravitator 2 boasts the most comprehensive set of features ever compiled in a freeware simulation program (that's right, it's free!). Gravitator 2 is much improved over its predecessor in every way imaginable and then some. Better still, it's all presented in glorious 3D, allowing the user to navigate around and admire the universe. It can be downloaded below.

So what's so special about this program?
Gravitator 2 integrates gravity simulation, elastic collision simulation, and a solid 3D viewer into one application. Its aim is to educate and entertain, and it is perfectly suited for high school or college level physics students or general physics enthusiasts. The program encourages exploration and creativity. But best of all, it's just fun to use. Even if you don't care what Newton discovered, you'll still get hours of enjoyment out of Gravitator 2. Below is a list of just a few of Gravitator 2's many features:

• Fully realized 3D view with lens control. Navigation includes yawing, pitching, rolling, sliding horizontally and vertically as well as following and riding modes.
• Up to 9,999 bodies in a single universe.
• The ability to create many bodies at once and make systematic changes on groups of bodies using the powerful Body Edit window.
• Just like its predecessor, Gravitator 2 allows the user to edit and move bodies during animation (as well as push and pull bodies using the Q and X keys). Unlike Gravitator, however, Gravitator 2 allows marquee selection.
• 12-digit precision with use of scientific notation and proper units.
• The ability to paste custom graphics onto the bodies as well as improved color-rendered images.
• A musical collision mode that causes bodies of varying masses to strike chords upon colliding.
• The return of the Gravity Map feature, this time with fine-tuning and four different drawing styles.
• 29 new example universes to gawk at.
• Easter eggs, if you can figure out how to find them . . .

Enough jabbering! I want to download it!
Very well. First take note of the Minimum Requirements:
System 7.1 or later, Macintosh with PowerPC processor, 12 MB of free RAM, monitor with Thousands of Colors. Recommended: System 8.0 or later, G3 processor or faster, 16 MB of free RAM, monitor running at 800x600 resolution.

Release notes:
This version of Gravitator 2 does not include support for non-English keyboard layouts (that is, it functions properly on systems with non-English keyboards, but you'll have to pretend you have an English keyboard layout). I plan to release an international version (with a few other enhancements) in mid-2002. Here are a few features that are not documented elsewhere:

• Click the mouse to bypass the launch screen (although you will have to watch it the first time since it is cool).
• Hold option while opening a universe (or reverting) to display it without comments and without automatically starting animation.
• Press F7 to immediately reverse the velocity of all bodies. This has little practical use, but it is fun to watch.

Font notice:
Gravitator 2 uses Geneva 9 as its font of choice. However, if your computer has a different version of Geneva (this is unlikely, but theoretically possible), you will need to download the standard Geneva font. Included are installation instructions. It can be downloaded by clicking here.

What is Gravitator?
Gravitator is the predecessor to Gravitator 2. While it is admittedly inferior to its full-featured grandson, this classic version still has a thing or two to teach about gravity.

Gravitator demonstrates up to 65 objects simultaneously interacting with each other. You can edit these objects' initial position and velocity, their mass, radius and density. Gravitator's charm lies in its simple interface: point and click to create objects and drag them with the mouse to move them (even during animation!). The program's features include: colorful graphics, an easily moveable view screen ("camera"), three collision modes (absorb, elastic, and none), topological gravity mapping, an anti-gravity mode (to demonstrate elastic collisions), and sound. Gravitator's emphasis is experimentation, and its goal is to entertain and educate. This program is perfect for the physics enthusiast or as a supplement to a high school or college physics course. Included with the download are 23 example modules.

What is Composer Hair?
This site contains software for the Macintosh which I have written. The software currently here is free; all you have to do in return is click past bothersome advertisements (and I haven't even seen them for a while -- has GeoCities stopped showing them?).

Yes, but why "Composer Hair"?
I was told once that I had composer hair. Being a composer myself, I find this a relief. I would hate to have conductor hair, or worse yet, violist hair. (People have written to me complaining that my treatment of violists is unjust and that violists aren't so bad. Mwa ha ha! That's funny.)

Will there be a Gravitator 3?
You've got to be kidding.

What about a Windows version of Gravitator 2?
No such thing is planned, but who knows what the future will bring...

What do you use to make this stuff?
While I have made efforts to embrace Windows programming as well, my first love will always be the CodeWarrior environment on the Macintosh. I also use SpriteWorld, which is a high quality (and fortunately free) sprite-based animation library for the C programming environment. If you're interested in developing a program using SpriteWorld, check out the website at www.spriteworld.org. SpriteWorld 2.3.1, the most recent version (although SW 3.0 has been in development for, what, two years now?), was created by Karl Bunker, Vern Jensen, and Anders Björklund, and is based on the original SpriteWorld by Tony Myles.

I simply must write you! But how?
You can email me at [email protected].

Did you mention being a composer?
Actually, yes. Although I'm currently majoring in computer science at the University of Georgia, for a long time I thought I would go into music. If you'd like to learn more about my compositions, email me at the aforementioned address.

Is there any Composer Hair software in development?
Yes, a project so mysteriously mysterious that its true nature is only known by me and a few thousand people who witnessed the original Composer Hair website. Okay, so it's not so mysterious, but it is cool. At least, it will be.

Does this site have any affiliation with Zephyr Systems?
None at all. It's by pure coincidence that their software and my software happens to have the same name. Unless they sic a team of lawyers on me, however, I'm sticking with "Gravitator" for now. You can check out their site by clicking here.

How many people have visited this site?

When was this page last updated?
On February 21st, 2002, at 4:40 AM EST.

Copyright 2002 Dan Reed

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