Home▸Nature & Climate▸Maple Seed Autorotation Simulator (2D)

Maple Seed Autorotation Simulator (2D)

Interactive 2D side-view simulator of a falling maple seed (samara): watch its asymmetric wing spin up into stable autorotation, generating lift that slows the descent, and tune wing shape, wind speed and drop height.

Nature & Climate2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted💨 Air & Wind ⇄ 3D version

This 2D side-view simulator drops a maple seed (samara) from an adjustable height and models the real physics of its fall: an initial chaotic tumble that locks into stable autorotation as the asymmetric wing starts generating lift, slowing the descent well below free-fall speed while wind carries the spinning seed sideways — tune the wing's angle and shape, the wind speed and the drop height, and watch the rotation rate, descent rate and effective lift coefficient update live.

⚙ Under the hood

A 2D side-view simulator of a falling maple seed (samara) spinning up into stable autorotation, with tunable wing shape, wind speed and drop height.

Maple SeedAutorotationAerodynamicsSamara

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install