I have never given it much of a thought about how physics engines operate behind the scenes.
Though, I am currently working on a game that would greatly benefit from as precise as possible physics model, hence the question.
To apply the counter forces, do physics engines, such as Havoc, Bullet and PhysX, take into account the actual shape of the mesh (probably only it's collider) or they operate solely as math functions working with only the predefined physical variables (mass, drag, friction etc.)?
I know that collisions operate on colliders and their shapes, but I am thinking about aerodynamics, gravity and other forces that are counter-applied while objects are in motion.