Web Watch

http://www.sodaplay.com/constructor

Sodaconstructor is a Java-based construction toy that obeys the laws of gravity and Robert Hooke. Players link together virtual masses, springs, and muscles to form automatons that walk, spin, and jerk across the computer screen. Each week, Soda, the London-based Web design studio that built the constructor, examines the automata that players have made and picks one of them to feature on the site.

http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history

Helped in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Virginia Tech’s computer science department has put together a Web site devoted to The History of Computing. Among the site’s offerings is People and Pioneers, an extensive list of noteworthy figures from the world of computing.

http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work

Vic Camp, a geologist at San Diego State University, has written what amounts to a self-contained Web course on all aspects of How Volcanoes Work. The site, which features many illustrations, is aimed at university students and high-school geology teachers.

To suggest topics or sites for Web Watch, please e-mail us at ptwww@aip.org .