Glasgow Science Centre Visit

Once again, simple physics wins against ambitious simulations on computer displays.

For example, we briefly played with an illustration of a red/cyan Anaglyph. It allowed some very simple computer models (e.g. a box, a molecule) to be rotated on-screen and viewed through glasses. However the refresh rate was abysmal and overall the interface was not responsive. Nils' attention was lost in seconds.

In this high-distraction environment, you need to immediately show or do something, even if it's not the main feature.

My favourite display of the whole day was a rotating disk on which you could place plastic wheels. If you let them spin up in the right way, and then let go, they'll stay in the same place for a surprisingly long time. Even when they start drifting off, they can orbit a few times in interesting ways, before eventually flying off. And when they fly off, you just have to have another go.

In these physics-only displays, if you do come up with a cunning workaround or variation, reality is ready to simulate it perfectly, and reward your ingenuity.