This calculator also accepts as it's 3 inputs only the "felt" or proper acceleration (i.e. traveler lightyears per square traveler year), one of the duration increments (e.g. map-years elapsed, traveler-years elapsed, or map-distance traveled), and the initial velocity (e.g. in map lightyears per year, or map lightyears per traveler year). To find out how these quantities relate, see the worked example here, and our 1D and map-based anyspeed-motion resource pages for more. If different independent variable values are given, then you may have to iterate toward the solution you desire by playing with these quantities. In some cases, you can be creative. For example, inputting a negative elapsed-time means that the specified initial-velocity is really the final one.
As an example, ask the calculator how far you can go by accelerating uniformly at one "gee" from rest for 14.51 traveler years. Do this by pressing [ReSet] to make sure that proper-acceleration is set to 1 [tly/ty^2] or about a "gee", and that initial velocity is zero. Then type in "14.51" [ty] in the text box under traveler-time elapsed. I think you will find the answer impressive, considering that the Andromeda galaxy is only 2 million lightyears away! If you wonder how this strategy might be used to vaccinate students against Newtonian misconceptions in introductory physics, check out the 3rd of our abstracts to the Winter 1998 AAPT conference, and papers linked thereto.
Now that we have this solver up and running, we will enable other input combinations as opportunity permits, and perhaps offer a choice of units. You may also look for an xtv plot of variable values in the near future (cf. image & beta of a version with the universal plot).
Caution: This applet requires a Java Development Kit 1.1 compatible browser. One reason is that version 1.1 of Java allows much cooler stuff to be done, even though the applet as written doesn't take advantage of it yet. The only browser I know of which supports JDK1.1 today is HotJava, available free from Sun if you register as a Java developer, but both Netscape and Internet Explorer are expected to offer compatible browsers soon. Here is what the applet looks like in a compatible browser. In the meantime, our non-Java solver (which accepts all Galilean-kinematic input combinations, in meters and seconds) should work for most anyone.
