This is my submission for WWDC23. A Swift playground to teach about the spectral lines of elements by imitating a science lab.
In this lab session, you'll be able to see the absorption lines within the visible light spectrum of a sample of elements. You have been given a mixed set of vials to determine what is in each vial.
When atoms are hit with light, its electrons will absorb the energy. The black lines that appear within the visible spectrum are places where that specific wavelength of light has been fully absorbed by the atom and is now missing. This is not limited to the visible spectrum that we can see. These lines can be above and below that range as well. These lines are like a fingerprint for each element and can be layered on top of each other when there are multiple elements present. This is how scientists can identify what elements are within the stars on the other side of the galaxy. For example: the element Helium was discovered in the spectrum of the Sun's light before it was found on Earth. This is also related to why flames can be different colors depending on what's being burned.
- Choose a vial to insert into the machine.
- Turn on the machine activate the sample with light.
- Observe the absorption spectrum lines that appear.
- Compare the observed lines with the Reference Sheet guide.
- Determine which element is in the vial and fill in your answers on the Quiz Sheet.
I've always had a pull towards science and using my skills to try to help others experience that joy as well. I think there's a lot of potential in edutainment to engage and fill knowledge gaps. This was based off of an actual experiment I was able to do in one of my college Physics courses. After learning the base elements like in this simulated lab, we were given a 'mystery' vial and asked "What's in this?" At that level, you get to do some really fun experiments, but most of my friends would never get to experience it, because they had already moved on and left sciences classes behind them at lower levels.
While this specific iteration will be considered complete, I am considering developing a game version to enhance a truer feeling of gameplay over just a quiz and get some more difficulty mixed in.