A simple 2D fluid and gravity simulation with WASM and WebGL
I really like the look of the famous album art for Unknown Pleasures [1]. It was originally created by Harold Craft at the Arecibo Observatory from the signals of the first discovered radio pulsar [2]. I made a spectrogram that produces a similar look. It runs FFT in Rust and visualizes it with WebGL. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UnknownPleasuresVinyl.jpg [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSR_B1919%2B21
A simple 2D fluid and gravity simulation with WASM and WebGL launched on May 8, 2024 with 137 votes, #404 of 4,539 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 2 years on.
In plain words
This is an interactive 2D particle simulation where small elements gravitate toward the user's cursor or touch location and can form stable orbits under the right conditions. Built with WebAssembly and WebGL, it's designed primarily as an experimental project for learning these technologies. The simulation functions as an engaging fidget toy, allowing users to play with physics by moving their cursor to watch particles respond and orbit in real-time.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
The little particles will gravitate to your cursor (or touch location), and can even enter stable orbits if the conditions are right! Mainly an excuse for me to experiment with wasm and WebGL, but it makes for a surprisingly good fidget toy.
Does a similar job
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Unknown Pleasures, a tiny web experiment with WebGL2023 · pouria.dev · ▲661A experimental audio visualizer built with WebGL (React Three Fiber and Three.js)
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Source: Show HN post ↗ · launch text quoted in part
