Dear Graduate students, I first welcome you to the Washera Geospace and Radar science Laboratory Graduate Program and this is the first computing course in our lab.
As you know from your undergraduate training, the laws of physics are typical expressed by means of mathematical models and perhaps the majority of them being differential equations. You have learned already how to solve differential equations and other equations of physics analytically. However, you must have come across many nonlinear models that are hard to solve analytically and the advance in a digital computer allows us to solve them and thereby opening up a new and vast field of research; numerical computing. In this computational physics course we shall together explore different computational techniques that are essential for various applications in science, engineering, environment and even in business. The emphasis will be on numerical modeling different physical and engineering systems and study how they behave under different circumstances by devising different computer experiments. Before the advent of modern computer, it has been hard to handle nonlinear models. But these days a modern computer allows one to create appropriate numerical models that can mimick the real suitations one would like to study. Usually computational physics is considered as a third branch of physics together with theoretical and experimental physics. I warn you not to attempt to simulate any physical and engineering system without having the basic understanding of how the model is constructed and its pros and cons. Once you have a good understanding of the model you would like to investigate, you do not need expensive scientific instruments to investigate how the model behaves under different scenarios. You just choose a scenario, create a suitable computer code for it, run it and see what happens and then start all over again if you wish or even change the model; still without paying any Birr!!!! What you need is a good brain that can generate an appropriate algorithm!! GOOD LUCK WITH THIS EXCITING COURSE!!Report writing instructions: All your reports should be written in Latex using the standard Physics Graduate Program latex style file. You must submit them electronically in PDF. If you do not have have earlier experience in how to use Latex please click HERE.
My lectures can be downloaded by clicking on the links below. I will try my best to make the lectures available in this site before class. There might be errors or misprint in the materials and please report them to me as you find one.
2. Module One
2. Module TWO
To see a report sample from previous year CLICK HERE and for sample class presentations CLICK HERE and sample Master theses can be found HERE.
To see a sample from International Refereed Journal Papers CLICK HERE
a sample poster can be found HERE