Understanding the physics collision type in Virtual Lab

There are three different types of CollisionType properties for the physics.  Let me give a little bit more information than is provided in the documentation.

Static: This means that the program assumes that the object will not be moved, but other objects can interact with it.  A good example of something that should be static is a building, as we wouldn’t expect to move the building, but we would like to walk up stairs.

Dynamic: This means that the physics system is the one in charge of moving the object.  This means that the objects will fall due to gravity and be pushed around when other objects collide with it.

Kinematic: This means that you move the objects around and the physics systems acts accordingly.  In this way, the objects will not fall as there is no gravity putting a force on them.  This is the state of objects in the kitchen scenario when they are attached to the wand.

You can also dynamically change between these modes, for instance changing from kinematic when the user has an object selected and dynamic when they don’t, causing the object to appear to fall.