Calculating the way three things orbit each other is notoriously tricky — but a new study may reveal 12,000 new ways to make it work.
Mathematicians find 12,000 new solutions to ‘unsolvable’ 3-body problem::Calculating the way three things orbit each other is notoriously tricky, but a new study may reveal 12,000 new solutions.
Wsn’t it solved long ago? There’s even an old KSP mod ‘Pricipia’ for it.
You can simulate a specific arrangement of n-bodies, where n > 2. Depending on how accurate you want it to be, you may need a supercomputer.
If n = 2, then you can work it out on a napkin. If n = 1, you can draw a circle, point at it, and say “I figured it out!”
So they mean there’s no general solution. That doesn’t mean that we can’t find specific solutions.
As for your notion of solved, that’s solved in a numerical sense.