OK, I see. Wikipedia says geometry is the study of shape, algebra the study of equations, and calculus the study of change. From that definition, I can see how even the program/simulation would be the calculus.
I guess it seemed odd to me (and still does), to call it calculus when you're not...
Hmm... I suppose it depends on what you mean by calculus.
Let's say we're trying to figure out the rate the fuel is burning, and that it depends on the mass of the craft.
Now, if you knew an equation to relate fuel usage, speed, and mass, you could just have your program change the MASS and...
Is this the thing about a rocket's mass changing as it burns fuel, changing its fuel usage?
Although, just to be difficult: what if you made a computer simulation of that process to determine the trajectory? Could you do it without calculus then?
Huh. I know next to nothing about QM, but...
OK. Weird question.
What is a technology that couldn't exist without calculus?
Like, a specific engineered artifact -- a bridge, a segway, a waterjet cutter -- that couldn't have come into being without calculus.
Not necessarily a hard question, just something I'm pondering for fun. Trying to...