PICUP Spring 2025 Webinar Series: Tech meets Mech: Bringing Mechanics students up to Code
Presenter:
Charlotte Christensen
Description:
Charlotte Christensen and Paul Tjossem, Grinnell College
April 7, 2025 at 7pm EDT / 6pm CDT / 5pm MDT / 4pm PDT
Contemporary physics relies heavily on computer programming for analyzing data and modeling systems. Yet time constraints often prevent undergraduate physics students from taking the computer science courses needed to develop the relevant skills. At Grinnell College we directly integrate computational exercises into the sophomore level classical mechanics course via Interactive Python notebooks. We assume no prior computing knowledge and preface each exercise with a pencil-and-paper analytical component to keep the focus on learning physics. The computing framework is introduced as needed, from loops, logic, and array manipulation to numerical integration, data analysis, and plotting. Provided with partially-filled Ipython Notebooks, students model classical physics systems such as the simple pendulum at high angle, two or more gravitational bodies in orbit, and damped, driven oscillators leading to period-doubling and chaos. Our exercises have recently been published by University Science Books as Python for Classical Mechanics, a close companion to John Taylor's Classical Mechanics text.
