ThermoLab
ThermoLab is a thermodynamics simulator designed to introduce the Vapor Dome using a familiar Piston-Cylinder scenario. The simulation allows students to view a 3-dimensional graph of pressure, volume, and temperature while manipulating the cylinder properties, to gain a situated intuition for their relationships.
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We teamed up with professor emeritus and researcher John Pfotenhauer to create a digital simulation for teaching undergraduate thermodynamics. The simulation allows players to explore equations of state in a hands-on, tactile way.
Explore the world of thermodynamics by conducting experiments using a water-based piston-cylinder apparatus. The simulation allows users to control a collection of tools: a bunsen burner, cooling coils, weights, stops, and environmental controls, to develop an intuitive understanding of thermodynamic processes.
Players can choose to engage with the system in an open sandbox mode or through a series of labs that walk them through the key constructs associated with thermodynamics. The labs, which are each focused on a key concept, include: Properties and Regions, Boundaries and Points of Interest, and Cycles and Processes.
ThermoLab was created in collaboration with John Pfotenhauer (Professor Emeritus) in the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with funding from the UW College of Engineering’s Education Innovation Award and National Science Foundation IUSE #2142103.
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