AHMEDABAD: A Mumbai-based physicist has evolved a virtual lab that does away with the usual paraphernalia and even supervisors - and puts the user in total control of the environment. D.C. Kothari of the physics department at Bombay University said he had developed the concept essentially for science students in remote areas who did not have access to laboratories. "The virtual lab is a software programme that can be run on a personal computer. It does away with expensive chemicals and equipment and the need for a supervisor," Kothari told IANS. Kothari was here to participate in a conference on Virtual Instrumentation in Engineering Education. "With virtual lab, one can perform 10 experiments on 10 separate workbenches in the lab. In place of the lab supervisor, there is a separate manual for each workbench to guide users. "With virtual lab, users don't need supervisors since there is no fear of damaging equipment or spilling chemicals," Kothari said. Research students Ami Gala, Pearl Cabral, Julius Correa and Pradeep Nair assisted Kothari in developing the virtual lab. Kothari is now testing the computer programme by distributing it in various colleges of Mumbai. "It is only after the students respond that I will be able to gauge the viability of this invention," he said.
Source: IANS