## Monday, June 6, 2011

### Angry Birds

I've been shooting up a lot of nasty green pigs on my computer thanks to Angry Birds. I don't think it needs an introduction. I should have just stuck to routinely shooting those birds at them right? I should put my brains aside, right?

Ya exactly. Not happening.

Come on! The bird actually traces a parabola on my screen and you expect me to ignore the physics staring at me. Of course not!

So when am playing the game, I'm thinking so I want it to go so far, so I need it around 45 degrees or I need it to go so high, so I'll take a larger angle (with an imaginary horizontal axis).

$d = \frac {v^2} {g} \sin \left(2 \theta\right)$

Then, the maximum range is when sin 2(theta) is one or when 2(theta) is 90 degrees or when theta is 45 degrees for the same speed.

The physics engine for this game was provided by an open source software Box2D. Its a very non fanciful software but its behind this game's rage that's sweeping the globe (Sorry! swept the globe already!)

Then there are so many other scintillating physics phenomenon in the game.

A typical example of an exploding projectile.

And just when you decide to label me the official nerd of the century, I suggest the more brave among you venture to this site where the author has used a graphics tracking software to deduce that the red bird is actually 70 cm in height according to some calculations and that there is no air resistance. (I never took air resistance into my head, somehow not that nice a trajectory).