Draw an iceberg and see how it will float
joshdata.me
joshdata.me
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1362557149147058178.html
(Many thanks to Elon for making it impossible to read more than the first tweet on x.com without an account...)
Very unlikely to occur in nature I guess :-)
Sometimes to innovate you have to think like a child — or a teenager.
If an iceberg is currently floating in a vertical orientation where more of it's mass to one side of it's center of gravity (bottom half) is underwater compared to the mass on the other side (top half), then it's going to tend to rotate until both sides are equally above water, so (depending on mass distribution) horizontal orientations are likely to win over vertical ones.
Of course an iceberg could balance vertically, but that's like balancing a pencil on your finger - not the most stable, and any disturbance (such as the initial calving event) is likely to rotate it into a more stable horizontal orientation.
Go science! Support your local climate scientist!
I found shapes that do not work well with the simulation: a very wide and narrow shape (like a needle) oscillates wildly and does not seem to stop or to even slow down.
Curious about this: I am hitting a boundary-condition like behavior drawing a straight line at a 45 degree angle similar to the sibling comment.
Curious if it is due to physics or due to the simulation.
- js.
This is all from 2021 and I feel like I’d seen this prior to that but I can’t find it.
- There's a fair bit of math to model drag, mass, and density using the specific gravity of ice and seawater (with tweaks to make it more realistic for 2d).
- Try adding a polygon that overlaps itself (self-intersects).
- You can paste images! The code traces the image and picks the most complex polygon.
(jk)
Then, use your first attempt to correct for the correct height.
⇒ I think a good game would need some other constraint, maybe score more for max height above the surface, or for how long a polar bear can keep their feet dry while it melts (a very wide but not tall stripe will melt faster than something resembling a ball)
The only way for an iceberg to achieve stability is "differential" - every infinitesimal movement needs to move the center of displacement in a way which counters the movement. This basically means flat bottom.
A flat bottom can almost work but is highly prone to accidental asymmetry.
Mostly penises most likely (like any "draw something online" service).
(I am also guilty)
(A perfect circle would have many, but you could consider that a degenerate configuration.)
For example this iceberg towers above the water in one equilibrium, but barely rises above the water in its other equilibrium.