javascriptalgorithmchemistry

Algorithm to spread dots evenly on a circle (Shell Model - Chemistry)

I want to create an illustrator script that places dots around a circle.

Let's say the shells are given, but I need a way to evenly spread out a n amount of dots (electrons) on a n-sized circle. For example 2 dots on the first circle, 8 on the second, etc.

Here is an example

To rephrase my problem: I have up to 7 circles that are all set. How do I spread out the dots on those circles?

Solution

  • Since the whole circle is 2 * PI radians, circle center is at (0, 0) and suppose you have n dots, you have to place the i'th dot on coordinate x = R * cos(i * 2 * PI / n) and y = R * sin(i * 2 * PI / n) for i = 0..n-1 where R is the radius of current circle.

    This is all about Polar coordinate system