Comparison

Quantum Atlas vs Physics Playground App

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

Head to head
About

Quantum Atlas

Explore the fundamental building blocks of reality with interactive simulations and clear explanations of quantum physics concepts. This pocket-sized reference makes complex theories accessible through a particle table, concept cards, and hands-on experiments.

Highlights
  • Interactive particle table
  • 12 concept cards for quick learning
  • 22 touchable physics simulations
  • Theory atlases for deeper understanding
  • Decay and Spectra explorers
  • Offline and private usage
Features
Read full description

Quantum Atlas is a beautiful, pocket-sized reference for the building blocks of reality. From the seventeen particles of the Standard Model to the ideas behind quantum mechanics, field theory, electrodynamics, and the strong force — it turns dense physics into something you can actually explore. And play with. A PERIODIC TABLE FOR PARTICLES Browse all 17 quarks, leptons, and bosons of the Standard Model in a clean, tappable table. Each particle card lays out mass, charge, spin, the forces it feels, its antiparticle, the year and team that discovered it, how it decays, and a plain-English explanation of the role it plays in the universe. No textbook required. LEARN THE CONCEPTS A deck of 12 concept cards covers wavefunctions, superposition, entanglement, spin, uncertainty, tunneling, the photoelectric effect, decoherence, gauge symmetry, vacuum fluctuations, and more — each one designed to be read in a minute and remembered for longer. INTERACTIVE LAB — 22 SIMULATIONS YOU CAN TOUCH Don't just read about physics. Play with it. Every simulation is a real, working experiment that you steer with your finger. The new flagships: • Hydrogen Spectrum — drag an electron between energy levels and watch the photon fall onto its exact wavelength • CHSH Game — a coordination game where classical strategies cap at 75% and entanglement breaks the ceiling at 85.4% The classics: • Double-slit, Mach–Zehnder interferometer, Quantum tunneling • Wave packet spreading, the Uncertainty principle • Spin measurement, Sequential Stern–Gerlach, Bell test • Bloch sphere, Two-state Rabi cycles, Quantum gates playground • Decoherence, Particle in a box, Harmonic oscillator • Photoelectric effect, Blackbody radiation • Atom builder, Orbital shapes • Particle decay tree, Feynman diagram builder GO DEEPER Four theory atlases — 34 entries in all — collect the key results and intuition for each domain: • Quantum Mechanics — wavefunctions, measurement, uncertainty, the foundations • Quantum Field Theory — fields, particles as excitations, virtual processes • Quantum Electrodynamics — photons, vertices, the running of the coupling • Quantum Chromodynamics — quarks, gluons, confinement, asymptotic freedom The Decay Explorer follows 11 unstable particles through their full chains of products, weighted by real measured branching ratios. Run it once and you get one outcome; run it again and you get a different one — exactly like the real universe. The Spectra Explorer renders the real emission lines of 98 elements at their true wavelengths, grouped by periodic-table family — every fingerprint that astronomers actually use to identify atoms across the galaxy. WHO IT'S FOR • Physics students who want to feel concepts, not just read them • Science teachers who need a visual aid that actually demonstrates • Engineers and developers brushing up on quantum • Anyone who has ever wanted to ask "but how does it actually work?" OFFLINE AND PRIVATE No accounts. No ads. No tracking. No analytics. Everything works offline, and nothing about your usage ever leaves your device. SIMPLE, ONE-TIME UNLOCK The Standard Model, the Concepts deck, and the Quantum Mechanics atlas are free, forever. Unlock everything else — the Lab's 22 simulations, the three remaining theory atlases (QFT, QED, QCD), the Decay Explorer, and the Spectra Explorer — with a single one-time purchase. Family Sharing supported. Designed with a premium dark interface, hand-built for iPhone and iPad.

About

Physics Playground App

Explore the universe of physics and math through interactive simulations and real-time equation adjustments. Learn concepts from basic counting to advanced theories with hands-on playgrounds and mini-games that earn you badges. Designed for all levels of understanding, from children to PhDs.

Highlights
  • Interactive physics and math playgrounds
  • Real-time equation adjustments
  • Adjustable difficulty slider (Child to PhD)
  • Mini-games with badge rewards
  • Concept map for interconnected ideas
  • Offline-first functionality
  • No ads or accounts required
Features
Read full description

Physics Playground turns science into games you play with your hands. Fire a cannon, slide pucks across the ice, fold a protein, crack a cipher, bend starlight around a black hole and forge a star. Every game runs on real physics, chemistry, biology, math or computer science, so you learn by doing, not by reading. 63 GAMES, FIVE SUBJECTS From projectiles, orbits and lasers to entanglement and the Big Bang; atoms, reactions and batteries; cells, genes and the immune system; fractions, fractals and calculus; logic gates, sorting, networks and machine learning. Each game has its own controls and its own goal. PLAY AT YOUR LEVEL Pick Curious Kid, Teen, Undergrad or PhD. Games start on Easy, Normal or Hard to match, and PhD turns off the hints for numbers only play. Free Play lets you experiment with no clock. EARN EVERY STAR Clear stages, earn up to three stars, beat your best score and collect badges. Light up your constellation and unlock the Universe Tuner when you master them all. BUILT FOR IPHONE DUO Fold it into a tabletop and the hinge aims the cannon. Open it like a book and the game spreads across both halves, with controls on their own side. Close it and keep playing on the outer screen. NEW GRAPHICS, SMOOTH AT 120 HZ Glowing particles, warped spacetime, lensed starlight and live fractals, with haptics tuned to every bounce and blast. GO DEEPER Every game links trusted sources: textbooks, papers, lectures and courses. Works on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Vision Pro. Ask Siri to open a game. No account, no ads, no tracking.

Screenshots

Quantum Atlas4 screens
Physics Playground App4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Quantum Atlas at 5.0 against Physics Playground App's 3.0. Quantum Atlas also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Physics Playground App's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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. Quantum Atlas sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Physics Playground App asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Quantum Atlas holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Quantum Atlas versus Physics Playground App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterQuantum AtlasPhysics Playground App
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better3.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequency—Every 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperElisha PerelmanAJA Digital LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Quantum Atlas

One-time1
  • Quantum Atlas Pro$2.99
None

Physics Playground App

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Quantum Atlas free?
Quantum Atlas is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Physics Playground App free?
Physics Playground App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Quantum Atlas or Physics Playground App?
Quantum Atlas is rated higher. Quantum Atlas averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Physics Playground App averages 3.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Quantum Atlas or Physics Playground App have ads?
Neither Quantum Atlas nor Physics Playground App shows ads.

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