What's Next?
Congratulations
You have completed all 15 lessons of Classical Mechanics in C. You can now compute velocity, free-fall distance, projectile range, Newton's-law acceleration, friction and centripetal forces, kinetic and potential energy, elastic collision outcomes, power, SHM displacement, spring and pendulum periods, torque, and Newton's gravitational force — all from scratch in C.
What to Explore Next
- Waves & Acoustics in JavaScript — The next physics course: apply SHM to travelling waves, interference, Doppler effect, and resonance — then hear the results with the Web Audio API
- Circuits in C — Ohm's law, RC transients, RLC oscillators: apply Newton's-style differential equations to electric circuits
- Orbital Mechanics in Three.js — Use RK4 to integrate Newton's gravitational law and render live planetary orbits
- Calculus in C — Numerical derivatives and integrals: the mathematical backbone behind every physics simulation
Key Formulas
| Concept | Formula |
|---|---|
| Average velocity | v = Δx / Δt |
| Free fall | h = v₀t + ½gt² |
| Projectile range | R = v₀² sin(2θ) / g |
| Newton's 2nd law | a = F / m |
| Friction | f = μN |
| Centripetal | a = v² / r |
| Kinetic energy | KE = ½mv² |
| Potential energy | PE = mgh |
| Elastic collision | v₁' = ((m₁−m₂)v₁ + 2m₂v₂) / (m₁+m₂) |
| Power | P = W / t |
| SHM | x = A cos(ωt) |
| Spring period | T = 2π√(m/k) |
| Pendulum period | T = 2π√(L/g) |
| Torque | τ = Fr sin(θ) |
| Gravity | F = Gm₁m₂/r² |
References
- Feynman Lectures on Physics Vol. 1 — the most readable introduction to mechanics
- Classical Mechanics — Taylor — the standard undergraduate text