Related papers: Second Life Physics: Virtual, real, or surreal?
Often mistakenly seen as a game, the online 3D immersive virtual world Second Life (SL) is itself a huge and sophisticated simulator of an entire Earthlike world. Differently from other metaverses where physical laws are not seriously taken…
This article reports on an exploratory case study conducted to examine the viability of Second Life (SL) as an environment for physical simulations and microworlds. It begins by discussing specific features of the SL environment relevant to…
Student difficulties in learning Physics have been thoroughly discussed in the scientific literature. Already in 1980, Papert complained that schools teach Newtonian motion by manipulating equations rather than by manipulating the Newtonian…
Virtual Worlds (VWs) are an emerging technology used by a growing number of educational institutions around the world. It is an environment, a way of learning and an educational tool that allows different levels of online interaction. In…
This paper intends to introduce a game-based 3D Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to second graders. The impetus arose from the need to make learning in mathematics more effective and interesting through multimedia. Applied in a game, the…
We present an investigation of game-like simulations for physics teaching. We report on the effectiveness of the interactive simulation "Real Time Relativity" for learning special relativity. We argue that the simulation not only enhances…
In recent years there has been a strong development of the concept of virtual reality (VR) which from the first video games developed in the 60s has reached the current immersive systems. VR and the consequent deception of perception pose…
This is the third series of the lab manuals for virtual teaching of introductory physics classes. This covers fluids, waves, thermodynamics, optics, interference, photoelectric effect, atomic spectra, and radiation concepts. A few of these…
We take our world to be an objective reality, but is it? The assumption that the physical world exists in and of itself has struggled to assimilate the findings of modern physics for some time now. For example, an objective space and time…
This paper explores the idea that the universe is a virtual reality created by information processing, and relates this strange idea to the findings of modern physics about the physical world. The virtual reality concept is familiar to us…
In teaching the physical sciences, a significant challenge lies in the student's tendency to consider the scientific world and the "real" world as separate. For example, Newton's 1st Law of Motion states that an object in motion remains in…
Since we cannot put stars in a laboratory, astrophysicists had to wait till the invention of computers before becoming laboratory scientists. For half a century now, we have been conducting experiments in our virtual laboratories. However,…
Real Time Relativity is a computer program that lets students fly at relativistic speeds though a simulated world populated with planets, clocks, and buildings. The counterintuitive and spectacular optical effects of relativity are…
Physics instructors often rely on demonstrations when teaching, using real-time examples to appeal to student intuition or tinkering with a physical system to develop a deeper and more natural understanding of a topic. However, some…
The Special Theory of Relativity, introduced by Albert Einstein in the early 20th century, marked a radical shift in our understanding of space and time. Nevertheless, the theory's non-intuitive implications continue to pose conceptual…
We present a study of student learning through the use of virtual reality. A software package is used to introduce concepts of special relativity to students in a game-like environment where users experience the effects of travelling at…
It has been reported that students often leave the introductory physics classroom believing that physics is less connected to the real world than when they entered. In this paper we aim to complicate that narrative by considering students'…
This study explores the virtualization of classical reality and aims to establish a clear framework to determine the limits and possibilities of virtual reality. It addresses two primary questions: whether an observer's senses can perceive…
In virtual worlds, objects fall straight down. By replacing a few lines of code to include Newton's gravity, virtual world software can become an N-body simulation code with visualization included where objects move under their mutual…
We construct an idealized universe for didactic purposes. This universe is assumed to consist of absolute Euclidean space and to be filled with a classical medium which allows for sound waves. A known solution to the wave equation…