how would i make a 3d nebula object using particles? i know that i have to make an object an emiter but what settings would i use to make the particles unmoving (no constant expansion from the emiter object)?
basically, what im looking for is how do i set up the particles to emit inside the object and not escape the objects faces/vetices so that i get a 3d nebula that looks like its in constant motion ( ie a constant plasma flow from solar winds) i can make an object to the shape i want but i lack the knowledge of particles in blender to make them appear inside the mesh and also stay there.
i would make a mesh (as you already have)
then duplicate it and shrink the duplicate of it (make the new one the emiter)
i would play around with the forces acting on the particles and add a dampening force to it. keep playing with these forces (especialy the dampening force) untill you get somthing that stays within your origional mesh.
once that has been achived then delete the origonal mesh or put it on another layer where it is not rendered
any other ideas on the subject? i have tried that but i still can get the look i want… it is kind of like a gaseous cloud in 3d, you can fly around it and thru it and it moves acording to the solar winds and other objects passing thru it.
to my knowledge that is about as far as the blender particle system goes.
there is no advanced physics for programing realistic (or even fake) reactions to real objects in the particle system
perhaps python has some potential
not even a simple physics phenomina can be re created in the particle system as it stands. the opening of star trek voyager where the ship passes through a nebula and has swirls coming off it would be considered simple.
maybe i just havn’t found it yet!!!
Simulate volymetric materials might be what you want, look here http://w1.111.telia.com/~u11114561/volumetrics.html
Hope this helps 
thank you! i just watched the divx movie of it in action and its exactly what i needed! just wish blender’s particles and physics were more advanced so i could do it the same way i would in max or maya or lightwave with particles.
You can also control particles using a lattice or through the 8th texture channel (though that last one is more risky and less controlable).
that’s a tut about the 8th channel technique: http://oldsite.blender3d.org/showitem.php?id=154
My CJ tut about lattice control: http://oldsite.blender3d.org/showitem.php?id=174&page=3 starts at the bottom of the page
Another CJ collumn explaining all the buttons in the particles window and how to make a fire: http://oldsite.blender3d.org/showitem.php?id=206&page=5
You could also give a look at SysAdm’s Blender effect page (some high quality stuff there), it might give you some ideas: http://www.centralsource.com/blender/effects.htm
cheers,
Martin