COURSE OUTLINE

General Information

Class Room:	228 Natural Sciences Building
Class Hours:	Mon Wed Fri 5:00 - 5:50 p.m.
Home Page:	http://www.physics.buffalo.edu/ComPhys/
UB Unix:	/project/phygons/ComPhys/
Instructor:	Dr. R.J. Gonsalves
Office Hours:	Tue Thu 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. in 323 Fronczak; or by appointment.
Telephone:	(716) 645-2017 or 645-3043
E-mail:	phygons@acsu.buffalo.edu

Textbooks and Software

• Required Text: Introduction to Computer Simulation Methods: Applications to Physical Systems, Second Edition, Harvey Gould and Jan Tobochnik (Addison-Wesley, 1996). Main source of topics and assignments for the course.

• Recommended Text: An Introduction to Computational Physics, Tao Pang (Cambridge University Press, 1997). More advanced supplemental text, useful especially for graduate students.

• Recommended Text: Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing, Second Edition, William H. Press, Saul A. Teukolsky, William T. Vetterling and Brian P. Flannery (Cambridge University Press, 1992).

• A Java Manual: Excellent Java programming tutorials and references are available on the Internet. If you are not comfortable working with online manuals you should acquire a good Java programming book. Core Java: Volume I Fundamentals, Cay S. Horstmann and Gary Cornell (Prentice Hall, 1999), is one suggestion, but there are many other excellent Java books available.

• Java Development Software: Available on UB Unix systems. The Java Development Kit (JDK1.1) for Windows 95/98/NT can be downloaded for free from Sun Microsystems. JDK implementations are also available for Linux, MacOS, and other operating systems.

  You may wish to use the latest JDK1.2.2 (aka Java 2 Platform). All JDK1.1 programs should run under Java 2. However, Java 2 applets will not in general run under Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer unless you install a Java 2 plugin. While Java 2 is available on UBUnix, it is not the default version. For these reasons we will continue to use JDK1.1 this semester.

Syllabus

The goal of this course is to learn how to use a computer to analyze and simulate interesting models of physical systems, many of which are too complicated to solve analytically. Simulations will be developed in Java, a modern object-oriented programming language. In this second semester we will choose topics from Chapters 7 through 18 the textbook by Gould and Tobochnik. Topics will include random processes, (Chapters 7 and 12); molecular dynamics (Chapter 8); partial differential equations in electrodynamics and quantum mechanics (Chapters 10 and 18); Monte Carlo methods (Chapters 11 and 17); and, time permitting, percolation, fractals, and complexity (Chapter 13 - 15). Numerical analysis topics will include: algorithms to solve differential equations and simulate various types of random processes. Brief overviews of Java programming topics (especially for those who did not take the first semester) will include: simple Java console applications, numerical algorithms in Java; GUI applications and applets; and, the AWT and Java graphics programming.

Prerequisites

To benefit from this course you must enjoy working with computers, and you should be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time on the homework assignments. Familiarity with some programming language will be helpful but is not required. You should also:

• be familiar with Newtonian mechanics, electrodynamics, and quantum and statistical physics at the undergraduate level,
• have access to a computer with Java development tools (for example, on UB Unix workstations, or on a Linux, Windows or Macintosh personal computer), and
• have access to the Internet for course and reference materials.

Homework

There will be a homework assignment due each week based on the material covered in lecture. Graduate students may be given some assignments based on graduate-level physics. You may discuss the assignments with your colleagues, but you are expected to perform and write up the assignments individually. Your assignment may be hand-written, typeset using a word-processing program, or posted in HTML format on your home page if you have one. (If you do post your solutions on your home page, please also submit a printed copy!) Homework assignments will count for 65% of your final grade. PHY 411 and PHY 506 students will be graded on different curves.

Examinations

There will be a mid-term exam and a final exam. These tests will consist of short questions and problems based on the lecture material and the homework assignments. PHY 411 students will have separate and simpler exams. The mid-term exam will count for 15% and the final for 20% of your grade.

Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability, (physical or psychological) and require reasonable accomodations to enable you to participate in this course, such as note takers, readers, or extended time on exams and assignments, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 25 Capen Hall, 645-2608, and also see me during the first two weeks of class. ODS will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accomodations.

Calendar

• 1999 - 2000 Academic Calendar
• Spring 2000 Calendar for Students
• Final Exam Schedule

Classes begin	...	Tue Jan 18
Last day to add or drop courses	...	Fri Jan 28
Spring break	...	Mon Mar 6 - Fri Mar 10
Mid-term exam	...	Wed Mar 15
Last day to resign with "R" grade	...	Fri Mar 17
Last day of classes	...	Mon May 1
Reading Days	...	May 2 - 3
Final examination period	...	Thu May 4 - Thu May 11
Final Exam	...	Thursday, May 11

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