Physics Engine

Definitions

1. Physics Engine is a software library that simulates physical systems and interactions, calculating how objects move, collide, deform, and respond to forces in real time. In video games, physics engines handle rigid body dynamics (solid objects bouncing, sliding, and stacking), soft body dynamics (cloth, jelly, deformable terrain), fluid simulation, ragdoll character physics, and particle effects. The engine performs collision detection (determining when and where objects intersect) and collision response (calculating the resulting forces, velocities, and rotations). Major physics engines include NVIDIA PhysX (used in many AAA games and Unreal Engine), Havok (Half-Life 2, Skyrim), Bullet (open source, used in Blender and robotics simulation), and Box2D (popular for 2D games). Physics engines use simplifications and approximations to maintain real-time performance, trading strict physical accuracy for speed. Beyond gaming, physics engines are used in film visual effects, architectural visualization, robotics simulation, virtual reality, and scientific modeling.

   In plain English: The part of a game or simulation that makes objects behave like they would in the real world — falling, bouncing, colliding, and tumbling based on the laws of physics.

   Example: "The physics engine handles gravity and ragdoll. We just set the parameters and let objects fall naturally."

Related Terms

• Input Map
• Physics Body
• Scene
• Shader
• Simulink
• Sprite
• Digital Twin
• Think Time
• Vertex