PDB Viewer vs ViscousJoukowski
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PDB Viewer
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PDB Viewer turns your phone into a molecular microscope. Search the entire Protein Data Bank and over 200 million AlphaFold predictions, then explore any protein, virus, drug, or DNA structure in interactive 3D — free, with no account, no ads, and no sign-up. WHERE THE MOLECULES COME FROM • RCSB Protein Data Bank — 200,000+ experimentally determined structures • AlphaFold — 200M+ AI-predicted protein models • SWISS-MODEL — template-based homology models • PubChem and ChEMBL — millions of drugs and compounds • Crystallography Open Database — small-molecule crystals • NCI/CADD resolver — type a chemical name and get a 3D model Every source is free and needs no API key. You can also open your own .pdb and .cif files. WAYS TO SEE IT • Five representations: wireframe, ball-and-stick, space-filling (CPK), cartoon/ribbon, and a smooth molecular surface • Color by element, chain, secondary structure, rainbow, or AlphaFold confidence (pLDDT) • Biological assemblies: rebuild an entire icosahedral virus capsid from a few deposited chains • NMR ensembles: overlay every model in the bundle to watch a protein flex • Automatic secondary-structure detection MADE FOR TOUCH • Rotate, pinch-zoom, and pan with smooth native rendering • Tap any atom to see its element, residue, and chain • Recently viewed structures are cached, so they reopen instantly and work offline For students, researchers, teachers, and the simply curious. PDB Viewer makes structural biology beautiful and accessible. Structures are provided by their respective databases. PDB Viewer is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by the RCSB PDB, EMBL-EBI, or AlphaFold.
ViscousJoukowski
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Are you interested in fluid dynamics? Viscous Joukowski simulates the flow around a Joukowski airfoil by solving the two-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equations directly on your device. For teachers, students, and curious aerodynamicists, it provides an interactive way to explore how viscosity changes lift, drag, pressure, boundary layers, separation, and wake formation. Watch vorticity, speed, pressure, and streamlines evolve around the airfoil. Change the angle of attack, thickness, and camber by dragging directly on the flow field, or use precision controls. Adjust the Reynolds number to explore steady flow, separated wakes, starting vortices, and vortex shedding. Surface-pressure curves and aerodynamic-force estimates update as the simulation develops. The app also includes the classical analytical Joukowski potential-flow solution. Overlay it on the computed viscous pressure distribution to see where the ideal textbook model agrees with—or departs from—the Navier–Stokes result. In the potential solution, circulation is selected using the Kutta condition; in the viscous simulation, circulation and the wake develop dynamically from the no-slip flow. All calculations run locally using Apple MLX and GPU-accelerated Fourier methods. No server, account, or cloud computation is required.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ViscousJoukowski at none against PDB Viewer's 1. On price, ads, device support 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
Both are free to download. PDB Viewer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ViscousJoukowski asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | PDB Viewer | ViscousJoukowski |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Monthly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Qvyshift LLC | ManneTroll Solutions |
In-app purchases
PDB Viewer
- PDB Viewer Pro$9.99
ViscousJoukowski
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is PDB Viewer free?
Is ViscousJoukowski free?
Do PDB Viewer or ViscousJoukowski have ads?
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