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#1 2006-08-17 00:34:36
- MathsIsFun
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- Registered: 2005-01-21
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Spiral Artist
Still under development, but I couldn't resist letting you have a play with Spiral Artist.
I have a problem that Flash uses more and more resources as the number of lines builds up, I haven't found a solution to this yet. You will notice it goes slow after a while, but pressing "clear" makes it speed up again.
Nontheless, it is fascinating to play with the size, speed and start angle of the 4 wheels to see what happens. I have had patterns with different levels of symmetry, and lots of un-symmetrical patterns that still kind of make sense.
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
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#2 2006-08-17 01:25:12
- Ricky
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- Registered: 2005-12-04
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Re: Spiral Artist
Whoever can draw the Riemann Zeta function first, wins.
"In the real world, this would be a problem. But in mathematics, we can just define a place where this problem doesn't exist. So we'll go ahead and do that now..."
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#3 2006-08-17 03:04:23
- Devantè
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- Registered: 2006-07-14
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Re: Spiral Artist
*rushes to draw the Riemann Zeta function*
No luck yet. 
Nice program, though. Creates some interesting designs. And the good thing is that you can alter the designs quite a lot.
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#4 2006-08-17 05:33:24
- mathsyperson
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Re: Spiral Artist
Very nice indeed! I've been playing with that for a while now and still haven't got bored! 
Minor bug: The sliders don't match up with the default settings when you first start it up.
Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.
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#5 2006-08-17 05:34:43
- Devantè
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Re: Spiral Artist
^Just remembered that, too. :\
All working good though, I can't see any problems with it. Great fun!
Luckily didn't happen a second time.
Last edited by Devanté (2006-08-17 05:36:30)
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#6 2006-08-17 09:45:34
- MathsIsFun
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Re: Spiral Artist
Thanks! Yeah, will fix sliders. Want to add more options, too, and perhaps a gallery of settings.
If you find a really cool pattern, note down the settings.
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
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#7 2006-08-17 21:45:06
- justlookingforthemoment
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Re: Spiral Artist
I found I could draw on the menu:
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#8 2006-08-17 21:49:08
- Devantè
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Re: Spiral Artist
I still haven't found anything interesting that I could draw...but I'll keep looking.
I'll post the settings of a good piece of spiral artwork when I can make one...
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#9 2006-08-17 21:57:44
- justlookingforthemoment
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Re: Spiral Artist
Also, could it be possible to
1. Make the circles stop once they get back to their original starting point?
2. Make the circles move/dilate etc when the sliders are moved, even when the circles have stopped moving, so we can see what the sliders actually do?
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#10 2006-08-17 23:07:13
- MathsIsFun
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Re: Spiral Artist
Yes, unfortunately you can draw on the menu. I do have a way of stopping it, but it is best implemented when the whole project is complete.
Making it stop is *possible* but error prone. I could check that all angles have returned to their starting position, but round-off error (caused by a computers inability to do exact decimal arithmetic) means that I could miss it.
Having the circles change in repsonse to sliders is a great idea.
I am working on an improved version. Ready tomorrrow hopefully.
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
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#11 2006-08-17 23:10:45
- Devantè
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Re: Spiral Artist
Great - Can't wait for the improved one.
I like justlookingforthemoment's 2nd idea, since I thought that it could do that from the beginning.
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#12 2006-08-19 13:08:30
- MathsIsFun
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Re: Spiral Artist
Can't wait? No problem. I have a new version in place now. I am calling it version 0.8, because it is nearly right.
I have:
* Improved the wheels so it is easier to see their rotation (they also update their position as you change sliders even if not drawing)
* Included thicknesses (but thick lines do slow it down)
* An "auto-off" feature after 2 minutes
* Some presets
* A speed slider
* and more
The trouble is, I am running out of space to put options. But it is great fun to use.
Try it to music
"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..." - Leon M. Lederman
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#13 2006-08-20 07:03:36
- mathsyperson
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Re: Spiral Artist
Very nice additions! I particularly like messing around with the resolution to get polygonal spirals. Although if you do the reverse and click the preset "Resolution 2" and set the resolution higher, then you get a lovely torus shape.
Minor bug #2: All the presets have maximum speed and trail length, and resolution set to 200, but the resolution slider is all the way to the right.
Why did the vector cross the road?
It wanted to be normal.
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