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Molecules by Theodore Gray (for iPad) Review

editors choice horizontal
5.0
Exemplary
By Tony Hoffman
July 29, 2015

The Bottom Line

Molecules by Theodore Gray is a magnificent immersive iPad app, replete with numerous cool animations, that take you into the realm of the chemical compounds that shape our lives.

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Pros

  • Fun.
  • Interactive.
  • Educational.
  • Wonderful animations.
  • Beautiful photos.
  • Clear, lucid descriptions.
  • 3D molecular models.

Cons

  • Lacks social media integration (other than sharing a pitch for the app itself).
  • On the pricey side for an iOS app.

Molecules by Theodore Gray ($13.99) is a superb iPad app for chemistry students, or for anyone interested in learning more about the compounds and substances that make up the objects around us, from rocks to plastics to living creatures. It is both informative and fun, chock-full of little-known facts, lucid explanations, and gorgeous 3D animations. Molecules is an easy pick as an Editors' Choice educational app.

Design and Features
Molecules is in effect the companion to The Elements: A Visual Exploration, one of the very rare products we've tested that earned a perfect 5-star rating, and which definitely qualifies as a tough app to follow, so to speak. The Molecules app does magnificently in its own right, however. It is highly informative, and was produced with great care and skill. The descriptions are clear and easy to follow. Its flourishes include three-dimensional virtual reality objects that you can spin through 360 degrees, plus other compelling animations, including molecules that gyrate in three dimensions. Amination-wise, it actually outdoes The Elements, and about all it is missing that the latter includes is a song. (The Elements features Tom Lehrer singing his classic Elements song, with animated elements synced to spin when he would call their names).

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The app is the creation of Theodore Gray, who founded Touchpress as a platform for creating an interactive version of his book The Elements. In a recent essay on the Touchpress website to commemorate the company's fifth anniversary, Gray said he'd wanted to create Harry Potter's edition of the book, "…the one where all the objects pop up off the page and start spinning around…" In that, he succeeded admirably, and it's also the case with Molecules, which draws much of its content from his other book, Molecules.

The Molecules app can run on an iPad, an iPhone, or an iPod touch running iOS 8.1 or later. I tested it with an iPad Air 2($445.00 at eBay) to take advantage of the device's large screen.

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Molecules by Theodore Gray (for iPad)

Design and Features
While the Elements app is straightforward and logical in its design—each element, in order of atomic number, gets two pages for text, animations, and data—Molecules requires a more creative approach. That's because while there are just 118 elements, there are a near-infinite number of molecules to choose from. But instead of being over-reliant on conventional chemistry-textbook concepts, such as acids and bases, Gray focuses on the molecules with characteristics that he finds most interesting.

The result is a highly animated interactive app split into 14 numbered chapters, each chapter covering a different topic. The homepage offers links to the different chapters, replete with a tiny turning (or burning, erupting, or jiggling) animation that's constantly in motion. In addition to the numbered chapters, there's also a link to the Introduction, as well as links to two unnumbered sections, Gallery of Molecules and Wiggling Molecules.

The first chapter, "A House Built of Elements," is a basic primer on elements and how they combine to form molecules. It discusses electrical charge, and contains one eminently awesome animation showing a woman whose hair sticks straight out on end due to the buildup of electrical charge from a Van de Graaff generator. "The Power of Names" chapter discusses chemistry's emergence from alchemy, and the debt that it owes to that oft-maligned field, while noting the beauty of the alchemical names, a few of which persevere. The "Dead or Alive" chapter discusses organic and inorganic compounds, and the occasional ambiguity in classifying a chemical as one or the other. Gray unsparingly skewers the use of the term "organic" (as well as "chemical free") in promoting allegedly healthy products.

Molecules by Theodore Gray (for iPad)

"Oil and Water" focuses on why water doesn't dissolve oil, which is related to the ingenious way in which soap works. "Rock and Ore" focuses on ore and how it's processed. Another chapter explores natural and artificial sweeteners. It contains some intriguing tidbits, such as the fact that the artificial sweetener cyclamate is banned in the United States and saccharin is permitted, while the reverse is true in Canada, which explains why Canadian Sweet'N Low contains cyclamate and American Sweet'N Low includes saccharin. One chapter discusses the color of molecules, while another tackles their smell.

The app also looks at gasoline, kerosene, propane, butane, and numerous other hydrocarbons, and why some are explosive and others aren't. Alcohols and esters get their day. A chapter unravels DNA, RNA, and proteins, largely in the context of their ability to carry information. "I Hate That Molecule" is a chapter that includes compounds that are justly or unjustly maligned, or simply controversial. Examples include the vaccine additive thimerosal, lead (when used as an additive), chlorofluorocarbons, and a real baddie, asbestos. The latter's fibers are microscopically sharp, able to reach into cells and break their DNA, leading to mutations that could turn into cancer.

The common thread amid the wealth of material presented in this app is the human connection to all of these compounds, how people use and are affected by these molecules.

Molecules by Theoodore Gray (for iPad)

These Molecules Can Boogie!
Most chemistry textbooks and classes teach you about molecules using the ball-and-stick analogy, at best paying lip service to the fact that molecules move, often quite vigorously. The Molecules app is not your staid and static 1950s chem textbook; if you tap on one of the many molecules that appear in its pages, the molecule will come alive in an animation. You can view the molecule either in the classic ball-and-stick format or in a "space-filling" format in which they're more tightly configured. Raise the temperature or increase the speed in which time passes in the app, using either of two sliders, and the molecule starts gyrating.

The Wiggling Molecules section goes into more detail about molecular motion, and lets you spin various molecules by hand. The motion of molecules within the app is designed as a "real simulation" based on the physics that controls the behavior of real molecules.

Molecules by Theodore Gray (for iPad) is a magnificent look at some of the chemicals that shape our lives. It is clear and focused, covers a vast amount of material, and has some of the best 3D animations we've come across. Not only is it a worthy companion to Gray's The Elements: A Visual Exploration, it even outdoes that app in its variety of animations, without introducing any obvious flaws. The Molecules app is as deserving of our Editors' Choice as an educational app, as well as its five-star rating, as The Elements app. Apps like this dynamic duo actualize the great creative potential of iPad apps, and help set the standard for innovative educational apps.

Molecules by Theodore Gray (for iPad)
5.0
Editors' Choice
Pros
  • Fun.
  • Interactive.
  • Educational.
  • Wonderful animations.
  • Beautiful photos.
  • Clear, lucid descriptions.
  • 3D molecular models.
View More
Cons
  • Lacks social media integration (other than sharing a pitch for the app itself).
  • On the pricey side for an iOS app.
The Bottom Line

Molecules by Theodore Gray is a magnificent immersive iPad app, replete with numerous cool animations, that take you into the realm of the chemical compounds that shape our lives.

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About Tony Hoffman

Senior Analyst, Hardware

Since 2004, I have worked on PCMag’s hardware team, covering at various times printers, scanners, projectors, storage, and monitors. I currently focus my testing efforts on 3D printers, pro and productivity displays, and drives and SSDs of all sorts.

Over the years, I have reviewed iPad and iPhone science apps, plus the occasional camera, laptop, keyboard, and mouse. I've also written a host of articles about astronomy, space science, travel photography, and astrophotography for PCMag and its past and present sibling publications (among them, Mashable and ExtremeTech), as well as for the PCMag Digital Edition.

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Molecules by Theodore Gray (for iPad) $9.99 at Apple.com
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