Magnitude and Attenuation in Fields subject

AI Thread Summary
Magnitude refers to the strength of a field, while attenuation describes how that strength decreases with distance. In the context of particle systems, a gravity field with a magnitude of 2 pulls particles down, and if the magnitude is set to 0, there is no effect on the particles. Attenuation is important because it allows for a realistic simulation of forces, where the impact diminishes as distance increases. For example, like heat from a fire, the intensity felt decreases with distance, illustrating the concept of attenuation. Understanding these terms is essential in physics, particularly in fields related to forces and particle dynamics.
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Dear folks,

I'm a 3D computer graphics student, working on particles and fields area. As I'm a newer I have lots of doubts to clear on Physics topics. Please explain me what is
Magnitude & Attenuation in Fields subject? I can see these two are common for most of the fields like air, drag, gravity, Newton and so on.


Thanks in advance.
 
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magnitude would be the strength of the field or the length of the vector if that's what your asking
 
Thanks for your reply :cool:

I have attached a reference image please check it.

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/5841/gravityfield.jpg

I would like to know about the attributes I marked.

In this file I added particles in my scene and a Gravity field. The Gravity field is over the particles and the magnitude value of the field is 2, so its pulling particles down. If I give 0 magnitude the gravity field won't affect particles.

Please explain me technically or in physics terms what are magnitude, attenuation?

Where it comes in physics subject?

Hope to hear from you soon.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Magnitude is the strength of the field.
Attenuation is rate at which the force weakens with respect to distance.

In your example the field pushes the same at all distances because attenuation is 0.
If you increased attenuation the field would push less as the particle traveled further from it.
 
DavidSnider said:
Magnitude is the strength of the field.
Attenuation is rate at which the force weakens with respect to distance.

In your example the field pushes the same at all distances because attenuation is 0.
If you increased attenuation the field would push less as the particle traveled further from it.


As I have Magnitude, if I want to reduce the force I can reduce the Magnitude will be ok. Then what's the need for separate force (Attenuation)?

Please explain this.
 
It's kind of like sitting next to a fire. The heat source has a magnitude and is hottest at its center, but the amount you feel it reduces as you get further away from it.
 
Awesome David.

Thank you so much. Now I can understand what is magnitude and attenuation.

In Physics, which area these particles and fields will come?

What do you call it?
 

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