A 300 frame animation showing what happens when you give a small kick to one of the points on the edge of a regular dodecagon. Left alone, the 12 spoked wheel is stable, but the lines around the edge are a lot shorter than the spokes, so the shape is storing a lot of energy. Once the symmetry is broken this energy can be released into the motion of the particles, as can be seen in this animation.
Script
This was the original python script, written in version 2.6 a long time ago.
import SPattern
pat=SPattern.makePattern(12,1,0)
pat.ping(0,45,.005)
pat.relax(300,0,100,True,300)