Particle modeling (Q1370786)

Contemporary science teaches that: (1) All things change with time. (2) All material bodies consist of atoms and/or molecules. This book is concerned with computer simulation of scientific and engineering phenomena in a fashion which is consistent with principles (1) and (2), above. Our approach demands the approximate solution of initial value problems for systems of ordinary differential equations. The computers used for the examples to be discussed are the Digital Alpha275 personal computer and the Cray YMP/8. The presentation is divided into three parts. The first part is concerned with mathematical, physical and numerical considerations and serves as a basis for the remainder of the book. The second part is concerned with the development of intuition, which is accomplished through extensive qualitative simulations and analyses. The third part is concerned with quantitative simulation of basic scientific and engineering phenomena. The penultimate chapter extends the approach to special relativity, but in a fashion which does not require previous study of the subject. In general, Chapters 3-16 are independent of each other, so that the reader can study an individual application of interest without studying the other chapters of the presentation. The approach developed here is distinctly different from that of classical continuum mechanics. Simulation is founded on discrete concepts only and is entirely consistent with modem theories of dynamical behavior.