From an Idea to the Golden Dozen: Altair Graduate Develops an App for Physics Experiments
The app has already won the Golden Dozen competition and received an award at the final stage of the nationwide Step into the Future Forum for Young Researchers.
For many school students, physics can seem like a collection of rules and formulas, with the actual phenomena getting lost along the way. Digital technology can change that by making physical processes easier to see and understand. The project developed by Daniil Putilin, a graduate of the Altair Children's Technopark at RTU MIREA and a student in the physics and mathematics track at Moscow's Kaptsov School No. 1520, shows how curiosity, support from mentors and a desire to understand things more deeply can lead to useful educational tools. His app lets users model physical processes, adjust parameters and see the results immediately.
Experiments at the Touch of a Button
It all started with an interest in a challenging topic. As Putilin studied molecular kinetic theory, he felt that the formulas were too disconnected from real life. He wanted to see how the law worked in practice. Gradually, that idea grew into a desire to create an environment where anyone could run an experiment with a single click. The result was an application built in Python.
The app now has two main sections. The first visualizes the motion of gas molecules and calculates pressure and the particles' average speed. The second focuses on ballistics. Users can change the initial velocity, launch angle, mass and even the force of gravity to see how an object would behave, for example, on Mars. The colorful animations are backed by precise mathematical models. Putilin and his research supervisor repeatedly tested those models, comparing their results with calculations performed by hand.
“Testing went hand in hand with development. We ran each experiment ten times with different parameters and checked the resulting values against calculations done manually with a calculator. This meticulous approach helped us make sure the visualizations represent the physics accurately rather than distort it,” said Artem Borisov, the project's research supervisor and an instructor at the Altair Children's Technopark.
From FizBoi to Virtual Reality
Interactive tools can be more than an add-on to classroom instruction. They can become an integral part of an engaging, competitive learning environment. One example came in 2022, when the Moscow Electronic School (MES) introduced the FizBoi (Physics Challenge) Competitive Mechanics lab. It gave thousands of school students the opportunity to take part in tournaments featuring virtual experiments. More than 4,900 school students from 124 educational institutions participated in the competitions.
In 2023, the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI introduced the MEPhI AR Lab app. It allowed students to explore 3D models of actual physics equipment in augmented reality before working with the real apparatus. Viktor Baikov, head of the laboratory, noted that AR technologies are becoming increasingly common in education.
“First and foremost, these technologies make it possible to visualize objects or processes in real time. More advanced solutions also let users interact with them. The benefits are fairly clear. First, it makes things tangible: the object we're studying is right there on the table in front of us, and we can rotate it and examine it from every angle. Second, it helps us focus on the subject of study. Third, there is safety. You can't break a virtual model or hurt yourself while working with it.”
In 2024, Moscow school students also gained the ability to complete lab assignments online using interactive workbooks built into MES. The system automatically checked their answers and covered topics ranging from mechanics to thermodynamics.
In 2025, Moscow also launched a pilot of VR PhysicsLab. Fifty school students from the Intellektual School were able to complete practical assignments in virtual reality, and the project team planned to continue developing the platform. Internationally, tools such as PhET Interactive Simulations likewise demonstrate the demand for interactive models in science education.
A Tool With Potential for the Classroom
Putilin's app could be useful in schools, extracurricular science clubs and independent study, particularly in settings without access to physical laboratory equipment. The developer plans to expand the range of experiments in the future, adding simulations of free fall, electrical circuits and the laws of conservation of momentum. For the app to become a practical classroom resource, it will also need instructional materials, a review to ensure alignment with the school curriculum and feedback from teachers.
What makes this story interesting is not simply that a student developed an app. It shows how learning can move beyond studying a topic to actively investigating it. Projects like this demonstrate how programming and mathematical modeling can be combined to address real educational needs. In the long run, that approach can help prepare professionals who bring together IT skills and a deep understanding of science.
