Platform Status: Q3 2027
Wave 9: What Was Published
| Post | Series | Topic | Read time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotlight #19 | Spotlight | Genetics & Molecular Biology | ~10 min |
| Learning #18 | Learning | Statistical Mechanics & Thermodynamics | ~12 min |
| Devlog #28 (this post) | Devlog | Q3 2027 Platform Update | ~7 min |
Spotlight #19: Genetics & Molecular Biology
The molecular biology category has grown substantially since the site launched: DNA Replication, DNA Transcription, Mendelian Genetics, Mitosis and Meiosis, Enzyme Kinetics, and CRISPR-Cas9 are now all live. Spotlight #19 is the first post to cover all six in one place, showing how they connect across scales — from the replication fork (nanometre scale) to population genetics (Hardy-Weinberg, across generations).
The most technically demanding section covers the CRISPR off-target scoring model. Explaining PAM requirements, seed-region mismatch weighting, and the NHEJ vs HDR repair pathway distinction required careful cross-referencing against current molecular biology literature. The math-box for gRNA-DNA complementarity is the most precisely sourced math-box in any spotlight to date.
Spotlight #19: Genetics
DNA replication fork → transcription → mitosis/meiosis → Mendelian Punnett squares → Michaelis-Menten kinetics → CRISPR-Cas9 PAM targeting. All six molecular biology sims in context.
Learning #18: Statistical Mechanics
Maxwell-Boltzmann → Lennard-Jones phase transitions → Ising model critical point → Planck distribution → Carnot cycle → Brownian diffusion. One guide, one narrative.
Learning #18: Statistical Mechanics — A Guide Built Backward
The standard university presentation of statistical mechanics starts with microstates and the partition function Z, then derives thermodynamics as a consequence. That ordering is logically clean but pedagogically hard — students have to carry a lot of abstract machinery for several hours before seeing anything familiar.
Learning #18 reverses this. It starts with the most tangible phenomenon (gas molecules have a distribution of speeds — you can see it in the simulation), then introduces the Boltzmann factor as the generalisation of that distribution, then shows it appearing in molecular interaction potentials (LJ), magnetic ordering (Ising), thermal radiation (Planck), heat engines (Carnot), and diffusion (Einstein-Brown). By the end, "k_BT is the scale of thermal energy" is not a formula but a habit of thought.
Blog Series Summary: Waves 1–9
Nine waves of content have now shipped. The full collection:
- 19 Category Spotlights — Math, Quantum Physics, Biology, Rendering, Climate, Physics, Space, Chemistry, Economics, Electromagnetism, Neuroscience, Fluid Dynamics, Quantum Computing, Optics, Chaos, Special Relativity, Ecology, Electronics, Genetics
- 18 Learning With Simulations guides — from WebGL Intro to Statistical Mechanics
- 28 Devlog posts — from project origin story to this Q3 2027 update
- 20+ Tip posts — canvas optimisation, Three.js internals, GLSL, responsive canvas, WASM, TypeScript
- 20+ Announcement posts — every major category launch
Which spotlights remain? The 19 spotlights so far cover 19 of the 80+ simulation categories. High-priority categories still unspotlighted: Thermodynamics/Statistical Physics, Algorithms & Computer Science, Economics & Society (deeper cut), Geology & Earth Sciences, Fluid Dynamics (second pass with new sims), and Plasma Physics.
Content Quality Observation: Depth Over Breadth
The average Learning guide now runs 12–13 minutes and contains 4–6 math-boxes with fully derived equations. This is longer than most comparable educational content for simulation-based platforms. The rationale: search engines reward depth on specific topics, and users who find Learning #17 (Quantum Mechanics) while searching for "Schrödinger equation interactive" spend significantly more time on the site than users who arrive at a sim page directly.
The corollary: every math-box formula needs to be verified against what the simulation actually implements. If the Carnot efficiency formula says η = 1 − T_C/T_H and the simulation labels the same quantity η_Carnot, the match needs to be explicit. We verify every formula before publishing.
What's Coming in Q4 2027 (Wave 10)
- Spotlight #20 — Thermodynamics & Statistical Physics: A dedicated spotlight for the thermodynamics category, covering heat conduction, the carnot cycle, phase diagrams, blackbody radiation and the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution as a collection — complementing Learning #18's narrative approach with a simulation-first overview.
- Learning #19 — Algorithms & Computational Complexity: Big-O notation, sorting algorithms, graph algorithms (Dijkstra, A*, Prim's MST), backtracking (N-Queens), and the P vs NP question — taught via the algorithms simulation collection.
- Devlog #29 — Performance: 60 FPS on Low-End Devices: A technical devlog on how canvas 2D simulations maintain target framerate on budget smartphones — timestep budgeting, particle culling, worker offloading, and battery-aware throttling.
- Technical: Simulation glossary page. A single-page searchable glossary linking every technical term used across the blog and simulation interfaces to its first definition in the codebase and the article that explains it. Long overdue; Q4 2027 backlog priority.