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🏁 Brachistochrone Race: Cycloid, Line and Arc (2D side view)

2D side view of the brachistochrone race: balls slide or roll down a cycloid, a straight ramp and a circular arc between the same two points, and the cycloid wins. Same track and integrator files as the 3D page, checked against closed-form times.

Physics & Mechanics2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted🤖 ChatGPT⇄ 3D version
Brachistochrone Race: Cycloid, Line and Arc (2D side view) ↗ Open standalone
⚙ Under the hood

2D side view of the brachistochrone race: balls slide or roll down a cycloid, a straight ramp and a circular arc between the same two points, and the cycloid wins. Same track and integrator files as the 3D page, checked against closed-form times.

brachistochronecycloidleast timecalculus of variationsgravity

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

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