Sticky Masses: A Hybrid System

</COMMENT> <I>If you were able to run applets, you would have a demo here.</I>
This applet models two (sticky) masses on a flat frictionless table. As shown in Figure 1. Each of the masses is attached to a spring with distinct spring constant. So if both balls are free, they will swing back and forth. However, if the two balls hit each other, they stick together. The stickiness is assumed to be exponentially decaying after they hit, and the decay speed is controlled by the parameter "Stickiness Decay" So after a while, they will separate.

Figure 1. The physical model of the sticky masses.

The model is built in Ptolemy II using the continuous time (CT) domain and the finite state machine (FSM) domain. The block diagram of the system is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The Ptolemy II model of the sticky masses.

To run the applet, click Go

If the applet runs correctly, the result will be a plot like Figure 3.

Figure 3. The Ptolemy II simulation result.

Last Updated:$Date: 1999-05-26 14:52:56 -0700 (Wed, 26 May 1999) $