Open Source App Teaches Physics of Magnetic Fields in AR

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 09/25/19

A new open source application is helping students visualize magnetic fields using Microsoft HoloLens. Wearing headsets, students can visualize how the magnetic field works in two or three dimensions by manipulating virtual bar magnets with their fingers and watching how compass needles respond to this invisible phenomenon.

Wearing headsets, students can visualize how the magnetic field works in two or three dimensions by manipulating virtual bar magnets with their fingers and watching how compass needles respond to this invisible phenomenon.

The code for the app was produced by Microsoft partner Feel Physics, which has tested the program with students in five countries, including the United States. According to Developer Tatsuro Ueda, the app has been applied up in science classes at 10 schools, three of which have confirmed "that the app is effective for learning the magnetic field."

Wearing headsets, students can visualize how the magnetic field works in two or three dimensions by manipulating virtual bar magnets with their fingers and watching how compass needles respond to this invisible phenomenon.

Ueda, president of Feel Physics, has published the HoloLens code to GitHub with the hope that the use of the program will be picked up by other science instructors as well as other education developers to port to other platforms, "such as Magic Leap One, Oculus Quest, iPad, Pixel3 and many others."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • geometric pattern features abstract icons of a dollar sign, graduation cap, and document

    Maricopa Community Colleges Adopts Platform to Combat Student Application Fraud

    In an effort to secure its admissions and financial processes, Maricopa Community Colleges has partnered with A.M. Simpkins and Associates (AMSA) to implement the company's S.A.F.E (Student Application Fraudulent Examination) across the district's 10 institutions.

  • stylized figures, resumes, a graduation cap, and a laptop interconnected with geometric shapes

    OpenAI to Launch AI-Powered Jobs Platform

    OpenAI announced it will launch an AI-powered hiring platform by mid-2026, directly competing with LinkedIn and Indeed in the professional networking and recruitment space. The company announced the initiative alongside an expanded certification program designed to verify AI skills for job seekers.

  • Abstract AI circuit board pattern

    New Nonprofit to Work Toward Safer, Truthful AI

    Turing Award-winning AI researcher Yoshua Bengio has launched LawZero, a new nonprofit aimed at developing AI systems that prioritize safety and truthfulness over autonomy.

  • hooded figure types on a laptop, with abstract manifesto-like posters taped to the wall behind them

    Hacktivism Is a Growing Threat to Higher Education

    In recent years, colleges and universities have faced an evolving array of cybersecurity challenges. But one threat is showing signs of becoming both more frequent and more politically charged: hacktivism.