How to handle multiple simultaneous elastic collisions?

Question

I\'m computing the result by colliding pairs of 2D convex objects (without rotation), using the basic equations on wikipedia. However, when there are dependencies, like two obj

Answer 1

This kind of dynamic simulation of multi-contact physics gives rise to a linear complementarity problem. There are algorithms available to solve this kind of problem; the math is related to that used for linear programming problems.

The need for solving this kind of problem is more common than you might think. Any kind of vaguely realistic simulation (i.e., with gravity, ground, and inelastic collisions) will soon end up with objects resting on each other; accurately and robustly handling the transition from dynamic collisions in space, to sliding and rolling objects, to "block-stacking" configurations, can be technically challenging.

I recommend looking for books or other resources on the subject. Exactly which techniques you actually need will depend on your specific application, but you may be able to find some libraries that will help.