Preamble

• History of computing:

  Would be a fascinating topic for many lectures. Just a few catchwords:
  
  • Babylonian and Indian astronomy
  • Greece: Architects (Temples) / Engineers (Archimedes) / Philosophers (Plato, Aristoteles)
  • Middle ages: Easter date / Architects (Masonry huts) / Astronomers
  • Renaissance: Commerce - "Calculators/Rechenmeister" (Adam Riess, Niccolo Tartaglia, Cardano, ... / Artillerists (ballistics) / Astronomers: Kepler, Brahe, ...
  • * NEWTON * 1643-1724
  • 18xx:
    • Petzval (lens optimization)
    • > "Computers"
  • 19xx:
    • Carl Størmer (aurora problem)
    • U.S. National Labs: first electronic computers, ENIAC / MANIAC / ..
    • first applications: neutron transport / statistical mechanics / weather prediction
    • later: everything else ...
  
  

  Modern applications:
  			...
  Applet: Electrostatics in a box	Applet: Hard discs fluid	Liquid crystal mixture	etcetera

  
  

• What, then, is Computational Physics?

  Serious answer

  Not so serious answer

  
  

Go directly to:

CALCULUS OF DIFFERENCES

LINEAR ALGEBRA

STOCHASTICS

Chapters 1-3: Basic Tools of Our Trade

ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Chapters 4-5: "Everything Flows"

STATISTICAL MECHANICS

QUANTUM MECHANICS

HYDRODYNAMICS

Chapters 6-8: Various Applications