It’s not a secret that one among the hardest subjects to crack in school or college is chemistry. The primary reason for this is the advanced levels of chemistry require the student to visualize atoms and molecules in their mind floating around in a 3D space. And the students only get texts that have 2D representations for their reference. Students who have a hard time visualizing each orientation and plane will find it hard to cope with the subject and ultimately starts to back away from it.
But we may soon change that because a team of researchers from the UK has come up with a solution that blends both chemistry and technology, VR to be precise. With this new technology, the researchers aim to bring a new method of teaching where students won’t have to base their knowledge from pages or screen. They will be able to interact with a virtual 3D model that will enable them to easily interact with it.
The level of interaction is something to be experienced because it’s not just a mere projection of molecules. The VR images can be moved about, rotated or the user himself can walk around the 3D structure to see how every shape and size are placed. No more confusion when the teacher talks about tetrahedron and octahedrons!
The level of chemistry isn’t just restricted to simple either because one of the primary tasks given out of volunteers for testing out the system was to manipulate a methane molecule through a carbon nanotube, to tie a knot on polypeptide and to manipulate an organic helicene molecule. Another impressive feat about this experiment was that most of the volunteers who used the program have not tried using a VR system before. That in itself is self-explanatory on why the system is very effective.
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The system uses co-location feature so that the users can interact with the system without feeling disoriented. In addition, the technology makes it possible for the 3D models to stay in the same orientation without moving about even if the users change his movements or direction.
“We describe a framework for interactive molecular dynamics in a multi-user virtual reality (VR) environment, combining rigorous cloud-mounted atomistic physics simulations with commodity VR hardware…It allows users to visualize and sample, with atomic-level precision, the structures and dynamics of complex molecular structures ‘on the fly’ and to interact with other users in the same virtual environment,” the researchers state. “…This framework should accelerate progress in nano scale molecular engineering areas including conformational mapping, drug development, synthetic biology, and catalyst design. More broadly, our findings highlight the potential of VR in scientific domains where three-dimensional dynamics matter, spanning research and education.”
-Sampling molecular conformations and dynamics in a multiuser virtual reality framework
The users also reported that they prefer VR method over screens or models. This technology will enable the users to approach chemistry with fewer inhibitions. the systems aren’t just all play and no study because the object mechanics of the System allows for some fun stuff like throwing a molecule across space to the other users who are present in the simulation. The maximum numbers of users per simulation are currently limited to six.
The current research paper is titled “Sampling molecular conformations and dynamics in a multi-user virtual reality framework,” you can find the same at Sciencemag.com
The paper talks about the various results they have obtained with this new form of teaching and the ways they achieved this feat. The researchers also based their tech on the cloud so that they can change different variables across systems with ease and in one go.