whats the difference between a simulation and an animation?
Simulations automatically produce realistic behaviour (provided the laws that objects obey are realistic). In animations this depends the skill of the animator (if realism is desired). Simulations can carry on forever as objects continue to interact. Without user interaction, what happens in a simulation depends only by its starting state. With animation, on the other hand, things can be “made” to happen, irrespective of their being realistic. But if simulations allow user interaction, or contain “intelligent agents”, they too can be guided towards certain outcomes.
