Atom in a Box app for iPhone and iPad
Developer: Dauger Research, Inc.
First release : 11 Jul 2008
App size: 1.12 Mb
Atom in a Box is an aid for visualizing the Hydrogenic atomic orbitals, the three-dimensional states that the electron occupies in Hydrogen, a prime and otherwise unwieldy example of Quantum Mechanics. It interactively shows what the Hydrogen atom "looks" like. Unique among visualizations of Quantum Mechanics, it uses highly optimized code to perform 3D volumetric raytracing through the electron wavefunctions probability density and presents its results in real-time. It animates and mathematically describes all 140 eigenstates up to the n=7 energy level. The app links to an online FAQ, and the atom rotates with multitouch and the accelerometer. The bottom line is: Explore! The user are meant to explore all aspects of the atom, what it is and what it can do.