simulations, exists on the campus of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. This theater (“CAVE”) will increase the scientists understanding of a severe storm by virtually placing them in the middle of it. Inside the virtual simulation, the user stands in a dark room, surrounded on three sides by white fabric screens. Numerous video projectors, outside the cave, place images on the screens to be seen by the user. The special glasses worn by the user make these projections seem real to the human brain. From the middle of a virtual storm, the CAVE will allow scientist to alter the variables necessary to the storm. For example, Robert Wilhelmson, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Illinois, and graduate student Vijendra Jaswal have already used the CAVE to research “severe thunderstorms, a tornado-spawning supercell, and most recently a tropical squall line” (Pen*censored* 9). The CAVE is already proven to be beneficial to the field of meteorology. With virtual reality, scientists can readily interpret the factors a dangerous storm needs to forecasters. With more information on what causes dangerous weather, the world can become a shelter from the storm.Virtual reality obviously works, but it may not be truly beneficial. In fact, many people believe virtual reality is actually a detriment to our society. They don’t believe the predicted possibilities of virtual reality, and also resist using it. These people have good reason for their strong beliefs. Those who discuss virtual reality, usually only focus on its strong points; rarely proving that it is a benefit to our society. Associating virtual reality into every day activity could prove to be an overall disadvantage for everyone involved.Unfortunately, most of the hardware involved in virtual reality is still rather unprepared for its expectations. Years ago arcades were filled with simple, graphically lacking games, such as P...
