Comparison

Atmospheric Model vs microbitINKY

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Atmospheric Model

Explore planetary atmospheres with a radiative transfer model. Calculate emission temperatures and flux densities, then modify parameters like albedo and solar constant to simulate atmospheric changes and their effects on climate.

Highlights
  • Radiative transfer model for planetary atmospheres
  • Calculates emission temperature and flux densities
  • Adjustable parameters: albedo, distance from sun, extinction coefficients
  • Supports 9 solar system planets or custom planets
  • Generates flux diagrams of incoming and outgoing radiation
  • Saves and compares two model run results
  • Exports data to CSV for spreadsheet analysis
Features
Read full description

The app uses a simple radiative transfer model for a planet with two leaky* atmospheric layers. It begins by calculating Te, the emission temperature of the planet by using the Solar constant and planetary Albedo. Te is called the Blackbody temperature because it is inferred by fitting a Blackbody curve to the observed outbound LWIR radiation. You can choose any of the 9 planets in our solar system, or choose one of your own making. The app then uses 5 parameters for the chosen “base” planet: the Albedo (alpha), distance from the sun (r), extinction coefficients of two atmospheric layers (epsilon1, 2), and the solar constant S0 to calculate temperatures and radiative flux densities. One can modify these 5 adjustable parameters from their base values, and update the result. A flux diagram is generated showing the incoming short wavelength (SW), and outgoing long wavelength (LW) radiation. Two model run results can be saved and differences displayed. Also, runs can be saved to a .csv file for E-mail export and spreadsheet analysis. Calculate the “natural” 33K greenhouse effect (compare Earth with and without an atmosphere), or change the extinction coefficients to see the effect of adding or reducing absorbing gasses. Predict what Mars might be like with an atmosphere, or see what would happen if the characteristics of our sun, albedo or planetary orbit change. This simple model can create hours of fun. The base parameter values for Earth nicely calculate Ts, Te, and T1 (upper troposphere) values, and the model correctly predicts Te’s for all the planets. INSTRUCTIONS: Load app, choose a “base” planet, segue with Update. Click Update to calculate the temperatures and flux densities. Segue to inspect the flux densities, and/or modify the base parameters to see changes. Save and compare differences in 2 runs. (C/C0) values are in CO2 equivalents. Save runs to .csv file for spreadsheet analysis. USAGE TIPS: Start with a base planet, but realize this simple 2 layer model cannot accurately predict the surface temperatures of the gas giants or Venus. Pressing the Back button allows you to refresh your parameter or base planet choices. Remember a 5 K change in Ts resulted in the Earth’s last Ice Age! For convenience, the Test planet can be used to create your own set of parameters without entering a planet name. Increasing the solar constant increases all temperatures. Increasing epsilon does nothing to Te, which depends only on S0, r, and alpha. Press On/Off & Home takes flux diagram screenshot. It is easy to remove a saved data file run (row) after import to spreadsheet. RADIATIVE FORCING and CLIMATE SENSITIVITY: Radiative forcing (dF) can be used to estimate the change in surface temperature (dTs) arising from that forcing using: dTs = lambda x dF, where lambda is the Climate Sensitivity in K / (W/m2). Forcing due to an atmospheric greenhouse gas such as CO2 can be expressed as: dF (in W/m2) = 5.35 × ln (C/C0), where C is the CO2 concentration [CO2] and C0 is the initial concentration (in ppm). For a single atmospheric layer Earth, changing the base value of epsilon = 0.78 to epsilon = 0.83 (d-epsilon = 0.05) gives an 3K T rise; roughly the equivalent of doubling [CO2] (and a forcing of 3.71 W/m2). There has been a [CO2] increase between the years 1750 (280 ppm) and 2000 (380 ppm). Thus dF = 5.35 x ln (370/280) = 1.5 W/m2. dTs = lambda x dF = 0.8 (K/(W/m2)) x 1.5 (W/m2) = 1.2 K over that timeframe (d-epsilon 0.02 used). * Leaky implies epsilon less than 1.

About

microbitINKY

Features
Read full description

Inky:bit, an electronic paper for micro:bit, is a display that remains on display even when the power is turned off. Therefore, it can be used in a variety of ways, but if you can't master the micro:bit programming, you won't be able to perform to its full potential. Even if you want to display images such as illustrations and handwritten characters, micro:bit alone is not enough. Therefore, we made it possible to transfer the illustrations and characters drawn on the iPhone or iPad as image data with this app. The micro:bit and iPhone communicate via Bluetooth. Before use, you need to pair the iPhone (iPad) and micro:bit via Bluetooth. Usage 1. Pair your micro:bit with your iPhone via Bluetooth. Pairing can be done with the micro:bit app. 2. Launch the microbitINKY app and press the "micro:bit CONNECT" button. When connected, the "UPLOAD" button will be enabled. 3. Draw characters or illustrations and press the "UPLOAD" button. 4. When the transfer is finished, the micro:bit will process it for a while and display it. Once written, the picture will not disappear even if the power is turned off. The "CLEAR" button clears the micro:bit display and screen display. Press "micro:bit DISCONNECT" to end the connection with the micro:bit.

Screenshots

Atmospheric Model4 screens
microbitINKY4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: microbitINKY at every 5 weeks against Atmospheric Model's every 36 months. Atmospheric Model's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Atmospheric Model ships an update every 36 months, microbitINKY every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Atmospheric Model versus microbitINKY: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAtmospheric ModelmicrobitINKY
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 36 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRichard LodaAtsushi Yamada

In-app purchases

None

Atmospheric Model

No in-app purchases

None

microbitINKY

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Atmospheric Model free?
Atmospheric Model is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is microbitINKY free?
microbitINKY is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Atmospheric Model or microbitINKY have ads?
Neither Atmospheric Model nor microbitINKY shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Atmospheric Model or microbitINKY?
Atmospheric Model ships an update every 36 months, and microbitINKY every 5 weeks. Most recently, Atmospheric Model was updated on October 10, 2026 and microbitINKY on October 18, 2026.

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