The idea of material science virtual laboratory

Purpose: This article was written to describe the Material Science Virtual Laboratory. Presented laboratory is an open scientific, investigative, simulating and didactic medium helpful in the realisation of the scientific and didactic tasks in the field of material Science. This laboratory is implemented in the Institute of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials of Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, Poland. Design/methodology/approach: The laboratory is an aggregate of testers and training simulators, placed in the virtual reality and created in various languages and the programming techniques, which represents the properties, functionality and manual principles of real equipment installed and accessible in the real laboratories of scientific universities. Findings: Application of the equipment, that is practically imperishable, cheap in exploitation and easy in the use encourages students and scientific workers to independent audits and experiments in situations, where the possibilities of their execution in the real investigative laboratory will be limited because of the high material costs, difficult access to real equipment or the possible risk of his damage. Practical implications: The use possibilities of the virtual laboratory are practically unrestricted; it can be a base for any studies, course or training programme. Originality/value: The project of the virtual laboratory corresponds with the global tendency for expand the investigative and academic centres about the possibilities of training and experiments performance with use of the virtual reality. This enriches investigation and education programmes of the new abilities reserved so far exclusively for effecting only on real equipment