virtual reality gets really realistic

Nick Bostrom's "simulation argument" just got a little more plausible.

The computing power that is now available makes it feasible to simulate physical processes from the smallest scale upwards, rather than trying to approximate their overall effect.

For example, when computer scientist Jonathan Kaldor at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, wanted to create virtual fabrics better those that had gone before he did something unthinkable just a few years ago. "We decided to start from the [individual] yarns. It sounds crazy but it actually works."

Knitting garments like socks and scarves from virtual wool modelled on real-world yarn gives results that stretch and deform realistically no matter how close up the view. The results could also be used with a haptic interface to provide the feel of fabric.

To add further realism, the team now plans to simulate the fuzz on the surface of each piece of yarn that adds friction between threads.

Click through and watch the video to see the improved physics in action.