Frequently Asked Questions

HTML5 sims

Java and Flash sims

The HTML5 sims are optimized for an iPad2 resolution (1024 x 768 pixels), but work on other resolutions and will scale based on your device resolution.

The Java and Flash PhET simulations work best at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels or higher. (Some of them are written so that they cannot be resized.) At lower resolution (e.g. 800 x 600), all the controls may not fit on your screen. To change your screen resolution, follow the directions below:

Windows 7/8

1. From Start menu, click on "Control Panel."
2. Choose "Display".
3. Press "Adjust screen resolution".
4. Use the "Resolution" slider to select a resolution and click "OK."

Windows Vista

1. From Start menu, click on "Control Panel."
2. Press "Adjust screen resolution" under "Appearance and Personalization."
3. Use the "Screen resolution" slider to select a resolution and click "OK."

Windows 2000/XP

1. From Start menu, click on "Control Panel."
2. Double click on "Display" icon.
3. Select the "Settings" tab.
4. Use the "Screen resolution" slider to select a resolution and click "OK."

Macintosh

1. Open the System Preferences (either from the Dock or from the Apple menu).
2. Open the Displays Panel and choose the Display tab.
3. On the left of the Displays tab you can select one of the Resolutions from the list.

The Java and Flash simulations cannot run on a tablet/iPad/Android device because those devices do not fully support Java or Flash, which is required to run the Java and Flash PhET sims.

iPad
The HTML5 PhET sims are supported on iPad2 or later. For iPad compatible sims click here.

Chromebook
The HTML5 and Flash PhET sims are supported on all Chromebooks using the latest version of Google Chrome. For Chromebook compatible sims click here.

Android
We do not currently test our simulations on Android devices due to the fragmented nature of the device ecosystem. However, the HTML5 sims should function. For optimal performance, we recommend opening the sims in the latest version of Google Chrome.

If your school district is considering the purchase of iPads or tablet devices, please understand that you will be limited to HTML5 sims. For more information, see our system requirements.

The PhET simulations have been written so that they are easily translated to languages other than English. Please click here for more information.

Yes, but there are some situations where problems may be encountered. If you only want to run a small number of simulations, the best approach is to download the individual JAR files (i.e. the files that are downloaded when you press the “Download” button on the simulation pages) and save them on your USB drive. This should work under most circumstances. If you want to install all simulations using the Offline Website Installer, there can be some complications. The reason for this is that some of the simulations – specifically the ones that run under Java – have hardcoded path information in their launch files. This is due to a limitation of the Java Network Launching Protocol. This limitation means that if you install the Offline Website Installer to your hard drive and then copy all of the installed files to a USB drive, there is a good chance that many of the simulations will not run. One possible alternative approach is to install the Offline Website Installer directly on to your USB drive. This should work in situations where the USB drive is assigned the same drive designation (e.g. “E:”) when attached to a new machine as was assigned when the Offline Website Installer was installed. If the USB drive is assigned a different drive designation, again, many of the simulations will not run.

Our project originally focused on physics sims, and was hence named the *Ph*ysics *E*ducation *T*echnology project, or *PhET*. When we branched into chemistry, biology, mathematics and other areas, we decided to keep the name *PhET*, but to no longer describe it as an acronym.

Most browsers have an option to switch into a fullscreen mode. Below are instructions for the most common browsers:

• Internet Explorer (all versions): Press F11
• Firefox: Press F11 (Windows, Linux), Shift-Command-F (Mac)
• Google Chrome: Press F11 (Windows, Linux), Shift-Command-F (Mac)
• Safari: Fullscreen support with 3rd-party plugins (Mac, Windows)
• Opera: Press F11 (Windows, Linux)

Click the 'Embed' button under the simulation you would like to embed. This will bring up a text box of html code that you can copy and paste in order to embed the sim. Flash sims may be directly embedded or linked via an image to launch the sim. Java sims may only be linked via an image to launch the sim.

Yes, our source code is freely available. Instructions to download it are on our Source Code page.

Information about our licensing requirements can be found on our Licensing page.