This universe (2) is full of wondrous and tremendously different things. One thing that the average person has difficulty imaging is the vast difference in size between various items in the universe, from the smallest atom to the largest of galaxies. This disparity of scale is captured brilliantly in the “game” The Scale of the Universe.
The controls of "The Scale of the Universe 2" are simple: you push a bar left and right, with left taking you to smaller and smaller scales while moving right gives you a bird’s eye view of increasingly larger objects. It even goes into theoretical items smaller than atoms, and also shows how large certain wavelengths are for completeness sake. Every item on the screen is clickable, displaying extra information in little text boxes. Because of all of this it can be quite an educational little tool for use with small children in a variety of scientific subjects.
The representation of the smallest of the Universe are both colorful and to scale, and this colorfulness extends to some of the larger items. The creator of the game tried to stick to the sizes as accurately as known to man, which gives students and other interested people a more visual perspective of things that most of us have only read about.
The area composed of objects humans see on a regular basis, close to the middle and a bit to the right on the scale bar at the bottom, is fittingly small, and can help children appreciate the fact that we really see very little on average.
The rest of the scale of the universe is generally as expected, going to mountain ranges, the sizes of countries, then the planets and stars. This scale also throws in a few fictional elements, such as the size of the Minecraft world, for a bit of a laugh. Distances between the Earth or Sun and various celestial bodies are also shown to further give a sense of scale.
The Scale of the Universe 2 - As a “game,” there is not much beyond moving the scroll bar back and forth to see different scales and clicking on items for more information. It is responsive, though, and loads pretty quickly even for those without the best of Internet connections. As an educational tool or to satisfy your own curiosity, it can actually be quite useful.
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