PhET Blog

We just published an updated version of the Greenhouse Effect. In this version, we restored cloud reflection and ice reflection features. (Thanks to the user who reported this bug!) You can now see how clouds and ice influence the amount of sunlight reaching the surface. We also fixed a control-panel layout issue occuring in the Japanese translation.

We improved our new Acid-Base Solutions sim to provide support for those with colorblindness.

Play the new Build An Atom game. Test your knowledge of atomic (and ionic) configurations after you’ve built your own atoms. Just click on the new game tab.

Learn why different materials of different sizes float and sink with the new Density sim. Why do objects like wood float in water? Does it depend on size? The Density sim has a set of great teaching ideas with pre-lab, post-lab, teaching notes and sim activities to help you through your lesson plan.

Preview the newly released Capacitor Lab sim Version 1.0. Change the distance between the plates, add a dielectric, then measure the electric field and voltage.
Note: this simulation is “Under Construction.”

Try out our new Acid-Base Solutions sim. Use lab tools on your computer to find out how strong and weak acids differ. Dip the paper or the probe into solution to measure the pH, or put in the electrodes to measure the conductivity.

Try out our new and improved Charges and Fields sim that we deployed earlier this week. It runs much faster when displaying the potential field lines.

We just published a new version of the Greenhouse Effect sim with a new tab called “Photon Absorption.” This new tab lets you see how light (visible photons) and heat (infrared photons) interact with the different atmospheric gases: methane, carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen and oxygen. It also lets you build your own atmosphere so you can see what gases contribute most to the greenhouse effect.

Play with our new Build An Atom sim where you can build an atom out of protons, neutrons, and electrons, and learn about its mass, charge, structure, and nomenclature.