An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition (revised)

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written by Harvey Gould, Jan Tobochnik, and Wolfgang Christian

The complete draft of the Third Edition (revised) of An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods (CSM) Third Edition. The third edition of CSM is Java-based and uses the object-oriented Open Source Physics code library. Examples described in this book are distributed in a ready-to-run Launcher package. Source code is available in an Eclipse workspace under the GNU GPL open source license.

A print edition of this book is available from Amazon.

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Last Modified: September 15, 2016
previous versions

22 supplemental documents are available

CSM Preface and Table of Contents
Frontmatter for an Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods.
download 90kb .pdf
Last Modified: September 15, 2016

CSM Ch 1: Introduction (Draft)
The importance of computers in physics and the nature of
computer simulation is discussed. The nature of object-oriented
programming and various computer languages also is considered.
download 89kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 2: Tools for Doing Simulations (Draft)
We introduce some of the core syntax of Java in the context of
simulating the motion of falling particles near the Earth's surface. A
simple algorithm for solving first-order differential equations numerically
also is discussed.
download 222kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 3: Simulating Particle Motion (Draft)
We discuss several numerical methods needed to simulate the motion of particles using Newton's laws and introduce interfaces, an important Java construct that makes it possible for unrelated objects to declare that they perform the same methods.
download 2664kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 4: Simple Harmonic Motion (Draft)
We explore the behavior of oscillatory systems, including the simple harmonic oscillator, a simple pendulum, electrical circuits, and introduce the concept of phase space.
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Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 5: Planetary Motion (Draft)
We apply Newton's laws of motion to planetary motion and other systems of a few particles and explore some of the counter-intuitive consequences of Newton's laws.
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Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 6: The Chaotic Motion of Dynamical Systems (Draft)
We study simple nonlinear deterministic models that exhibit chaotic behavior. We will find that the use of the computer to do numerical experiments will help us gain insight into the nature of chaos.
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Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 7: Random Processes (Draft)
Random processes are introduced in the context of several simple physical systems, including random walks on a lattice, polymers, and diffusion controlled chemical reactions. The generation of random number sequences also is discussed.
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Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 8: The Dynamics of Many Particle Systems (Draft)
We simulate the dynamical behavior of many particle systems such as dense gases, liquids, and solids and observe their qualitative features. Some of the basic ideas of equilibrium statistical mechanics and kinetic theory are introduced.
download 327kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 9: Coupled Oscillators and Normal Modes (Draft)
We discuss the physics of wave phenomena and the motivation and use of Fourier transforms.
download 553kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 10: Electrodynamics (Draft)
We compute the electric fields due to static and moving charges, describe methods for computing the electric potential in boundary value problems, and solve Maxwell's equations numerically.
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Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 11: Numerical and Monte Carlo Methods (Draft)
Simple classical and Monte Carlo methods including importance sampling are illustrated in the context of the numerical evaluation of definite integrals.
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Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 12: Percolation (Draft)
We introduce several geometrical concepts associated with percolation, including the percolation threshold, clusters, and cluster finding algorithms. We also introduce the ideas of critical phenomena in the context of the percolation transition, including critical …
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Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 13: Fractals and Kinetic Growth Models (Draft)
We introduce the concept of fractal dimension and discuss several processes that generate fractal objects.
download 959kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 14: Complex Systems (Draft)
We introduce cellular automata, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and growing networks to explore the concepts of self-organization and complexity. Applications to sandpiles, fluids, earthquakes, and other areas are discussed.
download 348kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 15: Monte Carlo Simulations of Thermal Systems (Draft)
We discuss how to simulate thermal systems using a variety of Monte Carlo methods including the traditional Metropolis
algorithm. Applications to the Ising model and various particle systems are discussed and more efficient Monte Carlo algorithms are introduced.
download 493kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 16: Quantum Systems (Draft)
We discuss numerical solutions of the time-independent and time-dependent Schroedinger equation and describe several Monte Carlo methods for estimating the ground state of quantum systems.
download 311kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 17: Visualization and Rigid Body Dynamics (Draft)
We study affine transformations in order to visualize objects in three dimensions. We then solve Euler's equation of motion for rigid body dynamics using the quaternion representation of rotations.
download 475kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Ch 18: Seeing in Special and General Relativity (Draft)
We compute how objects appear at relativistic speeds and in the vicinity of a large spherically symmetric mass.
download 180kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Epilogue: The Unity of Physics (Draft)
We emphasize that the methods we have discussed can be applied to a wide variety of natural phenomena and contexts.
download 325kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

CSM Updates and Corrections
Updates and errata to An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition.
download 68kb .pdf
Last Modified: November 24, 2013
previous versions

CSM Review
Computing in Science and Engineering book review of An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods.
download 339kb .pdf
Last Modified: February 11, 2011

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - General - Newton's Second Law = Force, Acceleration General Physics - Computational Physics Mathematical Tools - Differential Equations - Numerical Analysis	- Upper Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Textbook

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners	- application/pdf	Currently 5.0/5 Rated 5.0 stars by 3 people Want to rate this material? Login here!

Mirror:: http://physics.clarku.edu/sip/
Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2007 Harvey Gould, Jan Tobochnik, and Wolfgang Christian
Keywords:: Runge-Kutta algorithm, chaotic motion, clusters, computer modeling, differential equations, electrodynamics, few body motion, fractals, many particle sytems, normal modes, numerical integration, numerical methods, oscillations, particle motion, percolation, quantum systems, random processes, relativity, rigid body motion
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created June 4, 2008 by Wolfgang Christian
Record Updated:: December 21, 2023 by Lyle Barbato
Other Collections:: The PER-Central

The Open Source Physics

expressing my views

Author: Kailash Bhamu
Posted: October 23, 2017 at 6:58AM
Source: The Open Source Physics collection

Dear Sir/Madam,

I just downloaded the book "An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods
Applications to Physical System". I read few pages and it is amazing. It gives a real touch to the Computers in Physics.

Thanks for writing such a nice Book.

Regards
Dr.K.C. Bhamu

» reply

Any Python version of the book

Author: Ozhan Fenerci
Posted: August 30, 2017 at 6:37AM
Source: The Open Source Physics collection

Computer Simulation Methods was my favorite book throughout my education. Currently I am teaching Python and I find Java a little bit terse for introductory courses. ? hope that the next version of the book could be delivered with Python.

» reply

One of the best!

Author: Konstantinos Anagnostopoulos
Posted: October 3, 2016 at 4:58AM
Source: The Open Source Physics collection

I think it is the most complete and pedagogical introduction to Computational Physics. Excellent book, inspired topics and examples and very good exercises. An inspiration for me for writing my own book on Computational Physics and (re)designing my computational physics classes. The code presented is very good and easy to build on it new applications. I would also like to congratulate the authors for providing the source code under GNU GPL open source license from the beginning and opening access to the text at a later time.

» reply

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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=7375">Gould, H, J. Tobochnik, and W. Christian. An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition (revised). 3rd ed. 2007.</a>

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H. Gould, J. Tobochnik, and W. Christian, , 3rd ed. (2007), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=7375&DocID=527).

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H. Gould, J. Tobochnik, and W. Christian, An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition (revised), 3rd ed. (2007), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=7375&DocID=527>.

APA Format

Gould, H., Tobochnik, J., & Christian, W. (2007). An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition (revised) (3rd ed.). Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=7375&DocID=527

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Gould, H, J. Tobochnik, and W. Christian. An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition (revised). 3rd ed. 2007. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=7375&DocID=527 (accessed 25 April 2024).

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Gould, Harvey, Jan Tobochnik, and Wolfgang Christian. An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition (revised). 3rd ed. 2007. 25 Apr. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=7375&DocID=527>.

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@book{ Author = "Harvey Gould and Jan Tobochnik and Wolfgang Christian", Title = {An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition (revised)}, Edition = {3rd}, Year = {2007} }

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%A Harvey Gould %A Jan Tobochnik %A Wolfgang Christian %T An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition (revised) %D 2007 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=7375&DocID=527 %O 3rd %O application/pdf

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%0 Book %A Gould, Harvey %A Tobochnik, Jan %A Christian, Wolfgang %D 2007 %T An Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods Third Edition (revised) %7 3rd %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=7375&DocID=527

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