| Launcher: This tool provides a body element with an instantaneous, impulsive boost at the beginning of simulation runs (Run mode). Place up to five launchers anywhere in the simulation window or on a track. With the Select tool, you can move and rotate the launcher.
To place a body element on a launcher, you must click on part indicated by the cursor in Figure 1. Figure 2 shows what the launcher-body system looks like after you place the body element. You cannot attach a thruster or any vectors to bodies loaded onto launchers. |
Fig. 1 | Fig. 2
To place a launcher on a track, you must click within about 30 pixels above the track. Once you place a launcher on a track, you cannot move it off the track. In the launcher's Properties Box, you can set its direction (in degrees) and its strength (in kg * m/s). The launched body has a velocity equal to the strength divided by the particle's mass. The launcher effectively accelerates the body element instantaneously.