It’s a pity there aren’t more good science CD-ROMs. These information warehouses, with their huge storage capacity for text, pictures, and software, offer virtually unlimited multimedia possibilities- -and yet most of them in fact deliver little more than can be found in comparable books or videotapes or Web sites. Still, there are a handful of fascinating, well-made cds out there that let you learn some science while making the most of their medium.
Working model, for example, is a program that allows engineers to test hypothetical bridges, backhoes, and other structures by painstakingly calculating the forces that act on objects many times each second. But you don’t have to be an engineer to enjoy it. For those who simply want to get a more intuitive sense of physics, this program is a lot of fun since you can build anything you want--a bouncing ball, a human being, an airplane-- and send it careering through a world of your own making.
The creators of Working Model also offer a less powerful but more explicitly educational (and affordable) version of the program called Interactive Physics. Children might also enjoy The Cartoon Guide to Physics, based on the work of Discover’s very own contributing cartoonist Larry Gonick, which teaches basic concepts of physics with blasting cannons and other irresistible attractions.
