Physics
Explore forces, motion, energy, waves, electricity, and the fundamental laws governing our universe.
Balancing Act
Play with objects on a teeter totter to learn about balance. Test the balance of objects of different masses at different distances from the fulcrum.
Balloons and Static Electricity
Why does a balloon stick to your sweater? Rub a balloon on a sweater, then let go of the balloon and see how it interacts with the wall. Use the sim to investigate what happens.
Bending Light
Explore bending of light between two media with different indices of refraction. See how changing from air to water to glass changes the bending angle. Play with prisms of different shapes and make rainbows.
Blackbody Spectrum
How does the blackbody spectrum of the sun compare to visible light? Learn about the blackbody spectrum of the sun, a light bulb, an oven, and the earth. Adjust the temperature to see the wavelength and intensity of the spectrum change.
Build a Nucleus
Build an atom's nucleus by adding protons and neutrons. Discover which nuclei are stable and which are radioactive. Observe alpha and beta decay.
Buoyancy
When will objects float and when will they sink? Learn how buoyancy works with blocks of wood and other materials. Change the density of the fluid and observe the effects.
Buoyancy: Basics
Explore why objects float or sink in water. Discover how the density of an object and the fluid determines whether it floats.
Capacitor Lab: Basics
Explore how a capacitor works! Change the size of the plates and add a dielectric to see how it affects capacitance. Connect a capacitor to a battery and observe the charge stored.
Charges and Fields
Arrange positive and negative charges in space and view the resulting electric field and electrostatic potential. Return charged particles to the toolbox and explore the relationship between charge, field, and potential.
Circuit Construction Kit: AC
Build circuits with capacitors, inductors, resistors and AC or DC voltage sources. Explore the behavior of AC circuits and measure voltage and current with lab instruments.
Circuit Construction Kit: DC
An electronics kit in your computer! Build circuits with resistors, light bulbs, batteries, and switches. Take measurements with the realistic ammeter and voltmeter. View the circuit as a schematic diagram.
Circuit Construction Kit: DC - Virtual Lab
Build circuits with capacitors, inductors, resistors and AC or DC voltage sources, and inspect them using lab instruments such as voltmeters and ammeters.
Collision Lab
Use an air hockey table to investigate simple collisions in 1D and more complex collisions in 2D. Experiment with the number of balls, masses, and initial conditions. Vary the elasticity and see how the total momentum and kinetic energy changes.
Color Vision
Make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. Change the wavelength of a monochromatic beam or filter white light. View the light as a solid beam, or see the individual photons.
Coulomb's Law
Visualize the electrostatic force that two charges exert on each other. Observe how changing the sign and magnitude of the charges and the distance between them changes the electrostatic force.
Density
Why do objects like wood float in water? Investigate the relationship between mass, volume, and density. Measure the volume of different objects and calculate their density.
Diffusion
Explore diffusion by watching particles of two different gases mix. Observe how temperature, particle mass, and initial conditions affect the rate of diffusion.
Energy Forms and Changes
Explore how energy can be converted from one form to another. Observe how energy flows through different systems and how it is transformed.
Energy Skate Park
Explore the conservation of energy with a skater on different tracks. Build custom tracks, measure speed and height, and investigate how friction affects the system.
Energy Skate Park: Basics
Learn about conservation of energy with a skater dude! Explore different tracks and view the kinetic energy, potential energy and friction as he moves. Build your own tracks, ramps and jumps for the skater.
Faraday's Electromagnetic Lab
Play with a bar magnet and coils to learn about Faraday's law. Move a bar magnet near one or two coils to make a light bulb glow. View the magnetic field lines.
Faraday's Law
Explore Faraday's law by moving a bar magnet near a coil of wire. Observe how the induced EMF changes with the speed of the magnet and the number of coil loops.
Forces and Motion: Basics
Explore the forces at work when pulling against a cart, and pushing a refrigerator, crate, or person. Create an applied force and see how it makes objects move. Change friction and see how it affects the motion of objects.
Fourier: Making Waves
Learn how to make waves of all different shapes by adding up sines or cosines. Make waves in space and time and measure their wavelengths and periods.
Friction
Explore the forces at work when you try to push a filing cabinet. Create an applied force and see how friction affects the motion. Observe how different surfaces affect friction.
Gas Properties
Pump gas molecules to a box and see what happens as you change the volume, add or remove heat, and more. Measure the temperature and pressure, and discover how the properties of the gas vary in relation to each other.
Gases Intro
Explore the properties of gases. Pump gas molecules into a box and observe how pressure, temperature, and volume are related.
Generator
Generate electricity with a bar magnet! Discover the physics behind the phenomena by exploring magnets and how you can use them to make a bulb light.
Geometric Optics
How does a lens form an image? See how light rays are refracted by a lens. Change the focal length of the lens and see how the image changes.
Geometric Optics: Basics
Explore how a lens forms an image. Observe how changing the focal length and object position affects the image formed by a converging lens.
Gravity and Orbits
Move the sun, earth, moon and space station to see how it affects their gravitational forces and orbital paths. Visualize the sizes and distances between different heavenly bodies.
Gravity Force Lab
Visualize the gravitational force that two objects exert on each other. Adjust properties of the objects to see how changing the properties affects the gravitational attraction.
Gravity Force Lab: Basics
Visualize the gravitational force that two objects exert on each other. Change masses and distance to explore how gravity works.
Hooke's Law
Stretch and compress springs to explore the relationships between force, spring constant, displacement, and stored energy. Investigate what happens when two springs are connected in series and parallel.
John Travoltage
Make sparks fly with John Travoltage! Rub John's foot on the carpet to build up static charge, then bring his hand near the door knob to see a spark.
Kepler's Laws
Visualize the first, second, and third laws of planetary motion. Explore how orbital eccentricity, period, and semi-major axis are related.
Magnet and Compass
Ever wonder how a compass works? Explore the interactions between a compass and bar magnet, and then add the Earth and find the relationship between the Earth and a compass.
Magnets and Electromagnets
Explore the similarities and differences between permanent magnets and electromagnets. Discover how an electric current creates a magnetic field.
Masses and Springs
A realistic mass and spring laboratory. Hang masses from springs and adjust the spring stiffness and damping. You can even slow time. Transport the lab to different planets.
Masses and Springs: Basics
Hang masses from springs and discover how they stretch and bounce. Explore the relationship between spring force and stretch distance.
My Solar System
Build your own system of heavenly bodies and watch the gravitational ballet. With this orbit simulator, you can set initial positions, velocities, and masses of 2, 3, or 4 bodies, and see them orbit each other.
Normal Modes
Play with a 1D system of masses connected by springs. Observe the normal modes of oscillation and see how they combine to create complex motion.
Ohm's Law
See how the equation form of Ohm's law relates to a simple circuit. Adjust the voltage and resistance, and see the current change according to Ohm's law.
Pendulum Lab
Play with one or two pendulums and discover how the period of a simple pendulum depends on the length of the string, the mass of the pendulum bob, the strength of gravity, and the amplitude of the swing.
Photoelectric Effect
See how light knocks electrons off a metal target, and recreate the experiment that spawned the field of quantum mechanics. Observe the photoelectric effect experiment and understand Einstein's explanation.
Projectile Data Lab
Investigate projectile motion through data collection and analysis. Launch projectiles, collect data, and use statistical analysis to understand the relationships between launch parameters and landing position.
Projectile Motion
Blast a Buick out of a cannon! Learn about projectile motion by firing various objects. Set the angle, initial speed, and mass. Add air resistance. Make a game out of this simulation by trying to hit a target.
Quantum Coin Toss
Explore the difference between classical and quantum probability. Compare a classical coin flip to a quantum coin toss and observe the fundamental differences.
Quantum Measurement
Explore the quantum measurement problem. Observe how measuring a quantum system affects its state and investigate the role of the observer in quantum mechanics.
Resistance in a Wire
Observe changes to the equation and wire as you play with the resistivity, length, and area of the wire. Deduce the relationship between resistance, resistivity, length, and cross-sectional area.
Rutherford Scattering
How did Rutherford figure out the structure of the atom without being able to see it? Simulate the famous Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment and observe how alpha particles scatter off nuclei.
Sound
Explore the relationship between the properties of sound waves and how we perceive them. Hear the sound produced by the speaker, and see the sound waves. Adjust the frequency and amplitude of the sound.
Sound Waves
Explore how sound waves are produced and how they travel through different media. Visualize the compressions and rarefactions of a longitudinal wave.
Under Pressure
Explore pressure in the atmosphere and underwater. Reshape a container of fluid. Discover how pressure changes as you move to different depths in the fluid.
Vector Addition
Learn how to add vectors. Drag vectors onto a graph, change their length and angle, and sum them together. The magnitude, angle, and components of each vector can be displayed in several formats.
Wave Interference
Make waves with a dripping faucet, audio speaker, or laser! Add a second source or a pair of slits to create an interference pattern. Measure the wavelength, frequency, and speed of the waves.
Wave on a String
Explore the wonderful world of waves! Wiggle the end of the string and make waves, or adjust the frequency and amplitude of an oscillator. Observe a string vibrate in slow motion.
Waves Intro
Make waves with a dripping faucet, audio speaker, or laser! Adjust frequency and amplitude, and observe the effects. Measure the wavelength, period, frequency, and wave speed.