Virtual Laboratories and Virtual Worlds

Since the authors cannot put stars in a laboratory, astrophysicists had to wait till the invention of computers before becoming laboratory scientists. For half a century now, they have been conducting experiments in the virtual laboratories. However, they ourselves have remained behind the keyboard, with the screen of the monitor separating one from the world they are simulating. Recently, 3D on-line technology, developed first for games but now deployed in virtual worlds like Second Life, is beginning to make it possible for astrophysicists to enter their virtual labs themselves, in virtual form as avatars. This has several advantages, from new possibilities to explore the results of the simulations to a shared presence in a virtual lab with remote collaborators on different continents.