[robomartin]

A language like APL has made work of this kind far simpler for quite some time. I was doing basic fluid simulation work and planetary/orbital calculation with APL at least 15 years ago.

Starting from something like raw C or C++ means that the ability to express problems at this level of complexity is impossible without first writing a library to create the "words" and "verbs" you'll need. Then it's a piece of cake.

A language like APL gets you to a much more expressive level right away. Exploring more complex problems from that vantage point is far simpler (and a lot more fun in my opinion).