Comparison

Mechanical Pendulums vs Light Lab

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

Head to head
About

Mechanical Pendulums

Explore the complex and often chaotic motion of coupled pendulums. Interact with double, triple, quadruple, and even octuple pendulums, visualizing their behavior in 2D or 3D.

Highlights
  • N-tuple pendulum simulations
  • Interactive motion control
  • Multiple pendulum configurations
  • Quartz and OpenGL visualization
  • Derived equations of motion
  • 4th order Runge-Kutta solver
Read full description

In mechanics, in the area of dynamical system, a N-tuple pendulum is a set of N simple pendulums attached to each other. These N-tuple pendulums are physical systems that exibits rich dynamical behavior. For certain energies, are the motion of these mechanical pendulums often chaotic. You can influence the motion of the pendulums by holding your device in different positions. The equations of motions of these pendulums has been derived using the Sophia mechanical package. The different set of differential equations are solved using the 4:th order Runge-Kutta method for the time stepping. Within this application you can switch between these mechanical pendulums: - Double - Triple - Quadruple - Quintuple - Sextuple - Octuple - Symmtric Double - Simple 3-Dimensional The visualization of the pendulums can be viewed in either a Quartz view or in an OpenGL view.

About

Light Lab

Features
Read full description

Move light. Refract it. Reflect it. Light Lab is an interactive science app where you learn by playing with light. 【Discover the Magic of Light】 Touch the screen and move the light source. Rotate lenses and change refractive indices. Watch light rays change in real-time! Create rainbows, bounce light off mirrors. "Why does this happen?" As you play, you'll naturally understand how light works. 【Perfect For】 ・Students learning about light in elementary or middle school ・Anyone studying light propagation, reflection, and refraction ・Teachers who want to make science class more engaging ・Anyone curious about optics 【What You Can Do】 ◆ Real-Time Light Manipulation Move light sources and lenses to see light rays change instantly. Rotation, translation, refractive index changes—all operations reflect in real-time. ◆ Place Various Lenses Triangular prisms, convex lenses, concave lenses, diamonds, spheres, mirrors, and more. Place up to 10 lenses simultaneously to recreate complex light behaviors. ※2 lens types are free (triangle prism, biconvex lens) ◆ 3 Types of Light Sources ・Parallel: Like sunlight ・Spotlight: Like a light bulb ・Dispersion: Rainbow-colored light ◆ Create Animations Save lens and light arrangements as "scenes." Connect multiple scenes to create animations showing how light transforms. ◆ Save and Share Save your creations in the app. Generate QR codes to share with friends and classmates. 【For Teachers】 Designed as an educational tool for classroom use. ・Visually understand light propagation, reflection, and refraction ・Simulate phenomena that are difficult to explain, like total internal reflection and dispersion ・Students can experiment independently—perfect for inquiry-based learning ・Save and share scenes as teaching materials Try it for free first! 【Features in Detail】 <Light Source Adjustments> ・Position and rotation ・Adjust number of rays and width <Lens Adjustments> ・Position and rotation ・Refractive index settings ・Size adjustment ・Curvature adjustment for convex and concave lenses <Scene Features> ・Create up to 5 scenes ・Smooth animations between scenes <File Features> ・Local saving ・QR code sharing 【Pricing】 Basic features are free. ◆ Lens Unlock (One-time purchase) One-time purchase. Unlock premium lenses (plano-convex lens, biconcave lens, diamond, sphere, mirror, reflector). ◆ Lens Ticket Issuing Feature (One-time purchase) ※Requires "Lens Unlock" purchase first Generate QR codes to unlock all lenses on other devices for 1 year. Tickets can be issued repeatedly—perfect for teachers adopting the app school-wide or classroom-wide. 【Privacy】 ・No personal information is collected ・Works offline by default ・Internet connection required only for accurate time retrieval when using Lens Ticket feature 【Requirements】 ・iPhone / iPad ・iOS 16.0 or later 【Support】 Detailed instructions are available in the in-app "How to Use" menu. For questions, contact us via the support page. Bring the world of light closer. Let's play with light!

Screenshots

Mechanical Pendulums4 screens
Light Lab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mechanical Pendulums at none against Light Lab's 2. Light Lab's advantage is device support. On price and iOS requirement 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. Light Lab sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Mechanical Pendulums asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Mechanical Pendulums versus Light Lab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMechanical PendulumsLight Lab
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Every 4 months
Ads—No
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
Devices—iPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size0 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperManneTroll SolutionsTokyo Hotta Directors Network

In-app purchases

None

Mechanical Pendulums

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Light Lab

One-time2
  • Purchase all lenses$4.99
  • Lens Ticket Issuance Function$9.99

Questions

Is Mechanical Pendulums free?
Mechanical Pendulums is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Light Lab free?
Light Lab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

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