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Author: Subject: Virtual chem lab, w energetics !
morganism
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[*] posted on 11-6-2014 at 11:24
Virtual chem lab, w energetics !


there is now an app for that

https://itunes.apple.com/app/id839552862

a hand cranked, punch card operated lab
http://www.wired.com/2014/04/hand-crank-chemistry-set/


and making homemade, or cheap spectrophotometers. the benchtop model is pretty sweet, and parts list is there too.

http://www.publiclab.org/
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pichoro
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[*] posted on 11-6-2014 at 18:35


I was so excited for this app, then I found out it is iPad only. So sad.
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Etaoin Shrdlu
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[*] posted on 12-6-2014 at 09:47


The app is very charming. The occasional bit of trivia was a nice touch. It has multiple errors, though,* and I would like to see more emphasis on actually understanding the reactions. It seems like the start of a promising project, but it's certainly not complete by any means.

Sad thing is someone put a lot of love into getting the visual appearance of some reactions right, and some are just dead wrong. Also dear god why do the end products always evaporate?

The "safe for all ages" slogan on the splash screen made me a bit sad, too.

*For instance, they show bromine as a powder, this despite linking to a quite nice video showing a distillation setup and the final product.

[Edited on 6-12-2014 by Etaoin Shrdlu]
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Dr.Bob
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[*] posted on 12-6-2014 at 11:00


Quote: Originally posted by morganism  
a hand cranked, punch card operated lab
http://www.wired.com/2014/04/hand-crank-chemistry-set/


I remember when most science required IBM punched cards to solve the math... I could do a substructure search with a card reader and about 60,000 punched cards in only a few hours...

Those were the days.
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aga
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[*] posted on 12-6-2014 at 14:18


'app' is just half a word with an extra 'p' added/repeated.

I am Virtually a Brain Surgeon.
Gimme your Brain to mess with.
It'll be fine, honest.
I Virtually did 1000s of these ops ...

A Real Chemist isn't trained by Apps, and an App can never simulate all that You are, or provide you with real Experiences with Real substances.




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bismuthate
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[*] posted on 12-6-2014 at 14:38


This should just be for fun of course. No app prepares you for the multitude of factors present in a lab. Only hands on experience can prepare you to work in a lab. This same problem comes up in schools. To truly be ready for chemistry you need to learn how to be able to improvise to deal with whatever happens.
Also in my opinion they need to somehow develop the students chemical intuition too.




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Zephyr
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[*] posted on 12-6-2014 at 20:35


Quote: Originally posted by aga  

A Real Chemist isn't trained by Apps, and an App can never simulate all that You are, or provide you with real Experiences with Real substances.


Apps can actually be a versatile learning tool, but only to an extent. I received a chemistry text book with a free on line lab simulator, the idea being that you could learn about the reactions and then preform them in a "safe" way. Unfortunately the virtual lab contained only structured experiments and the strongest acid available was .5 molar HCl. Understandably, I found this very disappointing.

I would make a great goat, especially with all the training i have had in Goat Simulator XD




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Texium
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[*] posted on 13-6-2014 at 21:33


I got the app. It's pretty fun until after you've completed all the reactions, then it's not all that interesting just doing the same stuff repeatedly. It was really fun discovering the five secret reactions!
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