GasLab: A Domain Extensible Toolkit for Exploring Statistical Mechanics

Gas Lab Models
The GasLab project was designed to help students to visualize and explore the physical behavior of an ideal gas and relate the idealized microscopic molecular rules to the measurable observable quantities that emerge. This set of models simulates the behavior of gas molecules in a closed container under various conditions. It was one of the original CM StarLogo models (under the name GPCEE) and is now ported to StarLogoT as part of the Connected Mathematics "Making Sense of Complex Phenomena" Modeling Project.
The GasLab models are examples of "extensible models". They are basic seed models that are "glass-box", allowing students to "peek under the hood" of the model and see how it works. Interested students can then modify the underlying model, creating an experiment or a new variant of the GasLab models
The GasLab models are all variations of the basic model called Gas-in-a-Box. All variations use the same basic Newtonian (billiard ball) rules for what happens when gas molecules collide. Each model has different features in order to show different aspects of the behavior of gases. Many other extensions of the core Gas-in-a-Box model have been explored by students.

Other GasLab models available and in process:

Atmosphere Free Gas
Gas in a Box Isothermal Piston
Single Collision Two-Gas
Maxwell's Demon

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