Phun.cs.umu.se - Fun Physics For Everyone

Phun is a virtual 2D physics simulator developed by some Swedish students at Umea University. As the Youtube tutorial video shows, Phun looks more like a child’s video game than a physics lab, hence the name, I suppose. Freely available for download, Phun comes with a plentiful set of tools allowing users to draw shapes, run simulations, test object relations and have fun. You can start by creating polygons and adding movement whether it be by springs or wheels, etc. Then you can add other elements such as water or bricks. There are scenes available for users to get inspiration or to use as a learning tool. Phun works across all three of the major platforms—Windows, Linux and Mac. It’s available in several languages too.

“Phun is meant to be a playground where people can be creative. It can also be used as an educational tool to learn about physics concepts such as restitution and friction.
Phun was coded in C++ using OpenGL, GLEW, SDL (for window management), SDL_image (for reading images) and boost, including boost_filesystem. Everything was coded by Emil Ernerfeldt, including the physics engine and user interface.”

Physics isn’t a subject to be taken lightly. In fact many would rather just leave it to the experts. Phun however is a rather addictive sandbox for experimenting and making your own discoveries about the science. It works without any additional downloads and it’s been translated into several languages which makes it pretty universal.

Does Phun explain the concepts which users are learning about? Are there tutorials within the simulation itself? Is it easy to understand?