> >I don't see how this can work in practice.  For a simple example, how
> >would you do BouncingAtomsMorph in your system?  In Squeak, each atom
> >currently has a position stored in an instance variable -- 
> i.e., state.
> >How do you get rid of the state in something like an atom bouncing
> >around?  Move it into the messages?
> >
> >How does an atom decide when it is close to the edge of the 
> screen and
> >needs to bounce into a different direction?  And for bonus, 
> how do atoms
> >infect each other, i.e., how do you tell when two atoms of different
> >color are near each other?
> >
> >
> >-Lex

AliasWavefront (runs on SGI) is one of the tools they did use for the
effects in Independence day,
like the explosion of the White House (in those days just a fantasy).

In that program you have something they call particles. (used for the
explosion clouds)

With this tool you can create for example a hose pipe and put it in a scene.
You also can create a second water system, lets say an automatic (moving)
garden sprinkler.

Then you can say to the system go and the particles-module calculates which
raindrop of both watersystems will meet and how they have to behave after
the collision according Newton(?)'s law.
You could even change gravity, so simulate how the scene would behave on
Mars or Venus.

(About system performance: SoftImage is from another company and runs on
NT.)