Home▸Physics & Mechanics▸Accretion Disk Temperature Simulation

🕳️ Accretion Disk Temperature Gradient

A 3D accretion disk that spirals into a black hole under real inverse-square gravity, colored live by the Shakura-Sunyaev temperature law — watch it shift from dull red to X-ray blue-white as mass, spin and accretion rate change.

Physics & Mechanics3DAdvanced60 FPS

Thousands of particles orbit a black hole under real inverse-square gravity and spiral inward through viscous drag, colored live by the Shakura-Sunyaev temperature law — from dull red at the outer edge to blue-white near the innermost stable orbit.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Orbital speed, viscous heating, and the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) combine to set an accretion disk's temperature — and therefore color — as a function of radius, plus the plunge that happens once matter crosses the ISCO.

🎮 How to Use

Adjust black hole mass, accretion rate, and spin to see the disk's inner edge, peak temperature, and color balance respond. Toggle Doppler beaming to see the approaching side of the disk brighten.

💡 Did You Know?

A black hole itself emits no light — every "image" of a black hole, including the Event Horizon Telescope's pictures, actually shows glowing gas in its accretion disk, not the hole.

⚙ Under the hood

black holeaccretiontemperaturegravityshakura-sunyaevradiationsimulationThree.js

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install