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Beginner / Education

Interactive Science & Engineering
Starting from High School Physics

From mechanics to electromagnetism, experience the physics you study in textbooks by making it move. Just adjust parameters and watch the laws of physics come alive.

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From "I Sort of Get It" to "I Understand Why"

Physics in school can be challenging when you only memorize formulas. This page collects interactive simulators organized by topic — mechanics, waves, electromagnetism, and thermodynamics — so you can learn by adjusting parameters and seeing results in real time. Why does a pendulum's period depend only on its length? What patterns does wave interference create? Experience the moment when theory and visualization click together.

Mechanics

Newtonian mechanics, vibration, collision, rotation
7 tools

Classical mechanics dealing with motion, forces, and energy is the foundation of CAE and FEM. Experience the essence of vibration with simple pendulums and spring systems, and momentum conservation through projectile motion and collisions.

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Simple Pendulum Simulator
Vary swing angle, length, and gravity to observe period and amplitude changes in real time.
Open
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Double Pendulum — Chaos
Tiny differences in initial conditions lead to unpredictable trajectories. See chaos with your own eyes.
Open
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Spring-Mass Oscillation
Adjust spring constant, mass, and damping ratio to see natural frequency and free vibration response.
Open
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Circular Motion & Centripetal Force
Vary angular velocity, radius, and mass to see centripetal acceleration and force on graphs.
Open
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Projectile Motion & Air Resistance
Adjust initial velocity, angle, and drag coefficient. Find the angle that maximizes range.
Open
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Elastic & Inelastic Collision
Vary the coefficient of restitution (0 to 1) and compare momentum and kinetic energy conservation.
Open
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Trebuchet Ballistic Simulator
Optimize the range of a medieval trebuchet by adjusting arm ratio and counterweight mass.
Open

Waves, Sound & Light

Wave equation, interference, refraction, optics
6 tools

Sound waves, light, and water waves all follow the same wave equation. Explore superposition, interference, diffraction, and refraction with animated simulators. Experience Young's experiment and Snell's law firsthand.

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Doppler Effect Simulator
Change source and observer speeds to visualize observed frequency changes in real time.
Open
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Wave Superposition & Beats
Adjust frequency, amplitude, and phase of two waves to observe interference and beat phenomena.
Open
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2D Wave Front Simulator
Render 2D wavefronts and interference fringes from multiple sources in real time.
Open
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Snell's Law & Total Reflection
Adjust refractive indices n1/n2 and incidence angle to visually confirm refraction and critical angle.
Open
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Thin Lens Ray Tracer
Adjust object distance and focal length to display real and virtual image formation in real-time ray diagrams.
Open
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Lissajous Figures
Vary x/y frequency ratios and phase differences to create beautiful geometric patterns.
Open

Electromagnetism & Circuits

Coulomb force, circuits, resonance, skin effect
6 tools

Electric fields, magnetic fields, and circuits form the foundation of CAE electromagnetic analysis (FEM-EM). From point charge field distributions to RC/RL/RLC circuit step responses, spanning high school physics to CAE fundamentals.

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Electric Field & Equipotential Lines
Place positive and negative point charges to render field lines and equipotential surfaces in real time.
Open
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Magnetic Field Simulator
Visualize magnetic field distributions of straight wires, circular coils, and solenoids in 3D.
Open
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Ohm's Law & Series/Parallel Circuits
Adjust resistance and voltage for real-time current and power calculation. Compare series vs. parallel.
Open
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RC / RL Circuit Response
Adjust time constant τ = RC or L/R to see the relationship between step response and time constant.
Open
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RLC Circuit Resonance
Adjust R, L, C to experience the relationship between resonant frequency and Q factor on graphs.
Open
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Capacitor Charge/Discharge Animation
Visually confirm RC circuit charge/discharge curves and time constant. Includes voltage/current graphs.
Open

Thermodynamics

Equation of state, heat conduction, heat engines
5 tools

Thermal analysis is a particularly important field in CAE practice. Experience heat behavior step by step, from ideal gas P-V-T relationships to FDM numerical simulation of heat diffusion.

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Ideal Gas Law
Explore P-V-T relationships on 3D graphs. Visualize isothermal, isobaric, and isochoric processes.
Open
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Heat Diffusion Simulator
Adjust thermal conductivity and boundary temperature to compute 1D/2D temperature evolution with FDM.
Open
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Stefan-Boltzmann Radiation
Input temperature and emissivity to graph radiative heat flux and emission spectrum.
Open
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Brownian Motion Simulator
Adjust temperature, particle count, and viscosity to experience thermal fluctuations and diffusion.
Open
♻️
Heat Engine Cycle Calculator
Interactive P-V diagrams and efficiency for Carnot, Otto, and Brayton cycles.
Open

Astronomy & Gravity

Orbital mechanics, gravitation, terminal velocity
3 tools

Gravitation and orbital mechanics represent the culmination of Newtonian mechanics. Experience grand-scale physics from Kepler's laws to planetary motion in the solar system.

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Kepler Orbit Simulator
Adjust eccentricity and semi-major axis to verify elliptical orbits and Kepler's second law (equal areas).
Open
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Solar System Model
Real-time animation of inner and outer planet orbital periods and distances. Calculates synodic periods too.
Open
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Free Fall & Terminal Velocity
Calculate terminal velocity and fall time from mass, drag coefficient, and cross-sectional area. The physics of parachutes.
Open

Fun Math & Chaos

Fractals, nonlinear dynamics, cellular automata
4 tools

Experience the beauty and wonder of mathematics. From Mandelbrot sets to Lorenz equations of chaos, see how complex behavior emerges from simple formulas.

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Mandelbrot Set
Infinitely zoomable fractal. The boundary in the complex plane grows endlessly more intricate.
Open
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Fractal Tree
Adjust branching angle and length ratio to generate patterns resembling trees, blood vessels, and snowflakes.
Open
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Lorenz Attractor
The origin of the "butterfly effect" from a weather model. 3D chaotic trajectories rendered in real time.
Open
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Game of Life
Conway's cellular automaton. Complex "life" patterns emerge from just 4 simple rules.
Open

Frequently Asked Questions

Are these simulators free to use?
Yes, all NovaSolver simulators are completely free with no registration required. No account creation or personal information is needed. Just open your browser and start using them immediately.
Do they work on smartphones?
Yes, all pages are mobile-responsive. You can comfortably operate the simulators on smartphones and tablets. No special app installation is required.
Can these be used in physics classes?
Yes, they are ideal for visually understanding high school to university-level concepts. Students and teachers can explore simple pendulums, wave interference, electric circuits, and more with real-time parameter adjustments. They also work great with classroom projectors.
What browsers are supported?
They work on all modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. As long as JavaScript is enabled, no special software installation is needed. Internet Explorer is not supported.

Advanced Engineering Tools Also Available

FEM, CFD, fatigue analysis, control engineering, and more — 100+ advanced simulators for practicing CAE engineers.
Browse all tools by category and difficulty level.

View All Simulators

Introduction to CAE & Simulation — From Basics to Practice

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What exactly is CAE or simulation? I imagine it requires programming and advanced math.
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In a nutshell, it's the technology of running virtual experiments and verifications on a computer. For example, when designing a smartphone, instead of dropping hundreds of physical prototypes to see if they break, you can simulate the drop on a computer and predict where stress concentrations occur beforehand. Advanced usage does require mathematical knowledge, but what beginners need to understand first is the basic concept of "modeling physical phenomena to make predictions."
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Who uses it in the real world? Only designers?
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It's an essential technology across virtually all manufacturing industries — automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, construction, you name it. Designers verify strength and performance, while manufacturing engineers predict processing problems. Recently it's also being used in medicine (blood flow simulation) and environmental science (wind flow analysis). CAE is the core tool of "digital engineering," dramatically reducing prototyping costs and time while improving product quality.
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How can I use the free simulators on this site to help me learn?
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Our free simulators are perfect for beginners to build understanding through hands-on experimentation. Start by seeing "how results change when you adjust parameters." For example, change the length or material of a beam and calculate its deflection. Just that alone connects "the meaning of equations" with "physical behavior" intuitively. Think of them as a stepping stone before industrial software, or as visual teaching materials for physics fundamentals. Give them a try!

Key Fields in CAE & Simulation

CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) is a broad technology that supports engineering design through computer analysis. At its core is "simulation" — the technique of reproducing and analyzing physical phenomena through numerical models. The main analysis fields that beginners first encounter are structural analysis, fluid analysis, thermal analysis, and electromagnetic analysis. Structural analysis investigates the strength and deformation of objects and is used for automotive crash safety evaluation and seismic bridge design, with software like Abaqus and Ansys Mechanical being widely used. Fluid analysis deals with air and water flow and is essential for aircraft wing aerodynamics and automotive drag reduction, with Ansys Fluent and OpenFOAM being commonly used. These simulations evolve into "coupled analysis" that handles phenomena involving multiple physics (e.g., combustion-induced heat and stress in engines), enabling more realistic predictions.

These technologies have shifted the traditional "build and break" trial-and-error process to digital space, reducing development time and costs. In modern times, further advances continue with digital twins that fuse experimental and simulation data, and AI-powered rapid prediction. The value of encountering CAE fundamentals at an introductory level is not just learning software operation, but acquiring the essential modern engineering mindset of abstracting phenomena into mathematical models and evaluating them quantitatively. Our learning resources support this thought process through both theory and hands-on practice with free simulators.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What should I learn first as a CAE beginner?

A: Start by understanding basic numerical analysis concepts like "finite element method" and "finite volume method" (the idea of dividing a domain into a mesh and computing). Simultaneously, reviewing high school to early university level "solid mechanics," "fluid mechanics," and "thermodynamics" will build a strong foundation. Rather than jumping straight to expensive software, experiencing parameter changes with our free simulators is highly effective.

Q: Is programming essential for learning simulation?

A: Not necessarily. Commercial CAE software (Ansys, SolidWorks Simulation, etc.) can be operated through GUIs, allowing many analyses without programming. However, for complex modeling, custom calculations, and deep use of open-source tools (like OpenFOAM), skills in Python or C++ are very advantageous. Start by using tools, and learn programming as needed along the way.

Q: Can I learn CAE without physics background?

A: Understanding basic physics concepts (force, velocity, pressure, temperature) is essential. However, learning CAE itself is one of the best opportunities to see how physical laws manifest in real phenomena. Going back and forth between "textbook physics" and "physics visualized through simulation" deepens understanding in both directions. Even if you feel weak in physics, learning by seeing phenomena through tools is a recommended approach.

Q: Are there professional-grade CAE simulation tools available for free?

A: Yes. For structural analysis, "CalculiX" and "Code_Aster," and for fluid analysis, "OpenFOAM" are powerful open-source packages used in actual industrial R&D. However, they have complex setups and somewhat steep learning curves. In contrast, our free simulators focus on specific phenomena and are designed for beginners to intuitively operate and understand concepts, making them ideal as a first step.

About this category

This page lists these beginner-friendly science and engineering simulators. They are free, need no signup, and run in your browser — adjust parameters and see results, formulas, and worked examples in real time. Use the list above, the search box, or the adjacent categories to pick a simulator.