An Introduction to Ejs using mechanics models to accompany a
paper in
The Physics Teacher (2007).
A mass on a spring executes simple harmonic motion when a user drags the mass away from its equilibrium point.
Introductory mechanics courses are organized around a small number of basic models that are adapted to various contexts. Constant acceleration, simple harmonic motion, Newton's universal law of gravitation, and energy/momentum conservation form the core of the course. This Open Source Physics Launcher package contains a collection of simple mechanics models created using the Easy Java Simulations (Ejs) authoring tool. Not only are the models compiled and ready-to-use by double clicking on the green arrows (Launch Nodes) in the table of contents tree, they are packaged in such a way that right clicking on a Launch Node passes the model to Ejs itself thereby allowing the user to examine and modify the model if the user has Ejs installed on his or her computer. For example, right click on the simple harmonic oscillator simulation copies the model and its associated html documentation into the user's Ejs Simulations directory where the model can be examined and modified.
© Wolfgang Christian & Francisco Esquembre
http://www.opensourcephysics.org/
http://fem.um.es/Ejs