Computer Simulation in Physics

                 Independent Study - U859.98

The programming language that we will use is DELPHI 6. This is a visual language based on Pascal that was developed by Borland.

We will discuss in class the reasons for choosing this language.

There are many books that will assist you with the programming. It is not very important which one you will get. The simplest book is probably “DELPHI Programming for DUMMIES” which is part of the DUMMIES (don't take it personally) series and can be found in any book store.

It is important that you will get the program on computers that are accessible to you in your respective colleges.  

The physics will be based on “An introduction to Computer Simulation Methods” by Harvey Gould and Jan Tobochnik - Addison -Wesley publishers. It is an excellent book that will serve you well into the future and I highly recommend that you get it and bring it to class. It is not absolutely necessary and we will cover only a small fraction of the scope of the book. You can browse for details at  http://sip.clarku.edu/.

One way of getting the book is through electronic purchasing.

The course will cover 3 - 4 topics such as percolation problems, examples of cellular automata, molecular dynamics and the Ising model.

At the conclusion of each project you will submit a report that will include the simulated physical system and "experimental work" done on the simulated system.

In addition, at the end of the course you will be asked to present a final project.

Examples of project reports:


Examples of final projects - (load the *.exe file on your drive and run it; where available, follow the instructions in the instruction button):