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phetsims / build-an-atom

"Build an Atom" is an educational simulation in HTML5, by PhET Interactive Simulations.
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/build-an-atom
GNU General Public License v3.0
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Should electrons have a "-" in them? #155

Closed samreid closed 7 years ago

samreid commented 7 years ago

I noticed a discrepancy between how we render electrons and thought I would bring it up for discussion. Build an Atom looks great in my opinion and might not be improved by adding "-" to the electrons (especially since there is a prominent label) but I thought I'd bring it up to make sure it was a conscious decision.

John Travoltage: image

CCK Prototype: image

Build an Atom: image

ariel-phet commented 7 years ago

@samreid yes, definitely a conscious decision. In this particular sim, learning that the different particles have a particular charge is an explicit learning goal, so it would be "revealing" a bit too much to label them. Also I believe that would fall outside the bounds of normal chem representations.