I'm trying to get a chain physics model with segments. I'm feeling rather stupid, but how can I calculate which is the new position of each dot when the chain moves its ends?
expressed in another way and considering just three segments of the same length: which is the way for automatically calculating the different P1, P2. when an end moves?
If your chain has more than just a few links, it can be modeled with a catenary curve. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenary . Scroll down for derivations.) In the formula, y = a cosh(x/a), x= 0 at the bottom of the loop, and y = a at x=0. Calculate a = (s^2 – h^2)/(2h) where, s, is half the length of your chain, and, h, is the vertical distance from the bottom of the loop to the point of support. For any other, s, along the arc from the bottom, x = a arcsinh(s/a) .
