Almost all modern computers and most smartphones have powerful GPUs; graphics processors that often have more number-crunching power than the CPU. But until recently web pages and mobile websites couldn't use them - meaning slow, low-quality graphics, almost always in 2D.
That all changed when WebGL was released in the latest versions of Firefox and Chrome. WebGL (opens in new tab), based on the well-known OpenGL (opens in new tab) 3D graphics standard, gives JavaScript plugin-free access to the graphics hardware, via the HTML5 canvas element - making realtime 3D graphics in web pages possible. And creating a whole host of amazing examples of WebGL in action (opens in new tab).
Created by George Corney (opens in new tab), this incredible website (opens in new tab) is experimenting by coupling a CPU-based rigid body simulation with a GPU-based fluid simulation in OpenGL ES; the results are absolutely beautiful. Best viewed in the latest version of Chrome, scroll, swipe and click away to create an almost oil-painting-like effect.
What did you think of this WebGL experiment? Let us know in the comments box below!
