BuckyBounce: Molecular Physics Lab
An interactive Three.js structural mechanics playground exploring nanoscale allotropes, spring-mass lattice dynamics, harmonic resonance sweeps, and Euler face extraction.
6 allotropes · 90 springs · Euler topology · FM audio
Initial state. The C₆₀ truncated icosahedron, 60 vertices connected by 90 spring-mass bonds.
An interactive molecular physics laboratory built in Three.js. Throw probes at a buckyball, snap its bonds, hear it resonate, and watch it shatter.
How the physics work
The engine models each carbon allotrope as a spring-mass network solved with sub-stepped numerical integration.
| System | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Bond forces | Damped Hooke's law: |
| Integration | Sub-stepped Verlet / Euler with configurable dt |
| Topology | Chordless minimal cycle traversal → Euler face extraction |
| Audio | Web Audio FM synthesis — collision clacks, pentatonic chimes |
| Rendering | Three.js with custom shaders, thermal strain heatmaps |
The Euler insight
The truncated icosahedron has exactly 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons, as predicted by Euler's polyhedral formula: . Those 12 pentagonal topological defects become holographic arcade target rings for high-speed probe ricochets.
Six allotropes
The lab expanded beyond buckyballs to armchair carbon nanotubes, graphene sheets, floating tensegrity icosahedrons with isolated compression struts, and more. A harmonic driving oscillator sweeps excitation frequencies to reveal natural eigenmode resonances in real time.