Computational physics Definition and 157 Threads

If someone wanted to go into computational physics, would that be the PhD area of study, or is it just a branch of the better known areas, like hep, condensed matter, etc. Also is it considered theoretical or experimental? (I would assume experimental). Thanks!

Next semester I have a choice to take a computational physics course or E+M 2. The materials covered in the computational physics course are: applications of scientific computational techniques to solutions of differential equations, matrix methods, and Monte Carlo methods used in physics...

I have recently begun physics graduate school. My own programming background is in Java, but I haven't done much computational physics of a caliber that required me to implement things *well*. My research advisor states that most of the numerical simulation that takes place in our field...

I'm trying to go into big data and I like physics so I'm going for a degree in computational physics. I'm thinking of learning Hadoop and Storm, because all of the corporate careers seem to require them. Am I barking up the right tree? What kind of career path will a Bachelor's in Computational...

I am a beginner at computational physics. I have knowledge on C programming only and some knowledge on numerical analysis. please suggest me books which I can follow to learn Comp.physics. The book must be based on C programming. I do not have knowledge on python, java or fortran. please help.

Hi everyone. I've had my BS in physics for 5 years now, and I'm looking to brush up on some areas that I never covered in my undergrad career. Specifically, I'm looking for an undergrad computational physics textbook that I could use to work through some "real-world" physical examples and...

I really like all (most) fields of physics and I find it hard to choose a specialization for my master's and eventually my career. Is it possible to specialize in computational physics so that I could work in many different fields?

Has anyone here done a masters in computational physics? I am doing a double major in computer science and physics and it was always my intention to combine both fields for a career. I am basically finished with my CS degree and I have a very valuable internship at a large IT company doing...

Homework Statement Create a program that computes for the value of sine function. Then compute for its integral from 0 to pi with N intervals, where N=4,8,16,256 and 1024 and compare the result for the trapezoid and simpson method. Homework Equations Trapezoid rule of Integration...

We need to think of a machine problem which we are going to simulate and solve using fortran programming. Can someone please give me an idea on what machine problem to do? Something easy please coz I don't really have much idea about programming. I only know the basics. Thanks :)

Can anyone recommend a good book on computational physics. I have a good understanding of C and would like the book to be based around C. Thanks =D

We occasionally get questions related to codes and computational methods. There have been considerable advances in computational methods and computational systems in the field of nuclear energy and nuclear engineering. This thread serves to address previous developments and follow current...

Hello I'll get straight to the point. I'm really interested in going into Computational Physics. Where I live (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) not many offer that program nor are any of them close to me who do offer the program. I was wondering if it would be alright for me to do something...

Do universities offer both as a mixed program? Or do I have to major in one and minor in the other? If it would help, I'm in Toronto Canada. Thank you. :)

Hello, I'm interested in pursuing a career in computational physics or any field that involves computer science and physics (both are my majors). I have also considered video game programming and simulation/modeling. You get the idea. My question is - for someone who wants to be a...

I'm doing a computational emphasis at my university and since it is as I said an emphasis not a lot of classes are required for it. I look at other schools that offer a BS in computational physics and they require a lot more CS classes. What I'm looking for is some advice in which CS or EE...

So, I want attend either college X or Y; I'm using variables because I don't want to expand on the college, et cetera. If I choose to attend college X, I have to take a Computational Physics class to acquire the B.S. in Physics. Unfortunately, college Y does not offer Computational Physics as...

I'm an undergraduate aiming for a physics major, and I love computer science and numerical algorithms. I'm wondering: What does a computational physicist do? Would a computational physicist be programming all day or solving equations all day? I'm just kind of confused where the physics ends...

Hello! Some questions regarding Computational Physics: 1. Education: In becoming a Computational Physicist, What would one take as a major in the undergraduate level, and as well as in the graduate and post graduate levels (Masters and Phd, respectfully)? - Would one take a BS major in...

Hi everyone, I'm a freshman at a community college in California. I'm planning to transfer to UC San Diego later because of their undergraduate program- B.S. in Physics with specialization in Computational Physics. I really like science and it's my dream to become a scientist but I want to...

Hello everyone, Just wondering how different the two really are. I'm interested in developing functionals and was wondering if the two are really distinguishable. On an added note, by the time I graduate, I will have had two research terms in computational chemistry. One applications, and the...

I'm doing Physics, Maths and Further Maths for A Levels. I'm planning on doing Theoretical Physics in University. I had A* in Maths and A in Physics for GCSE's. I'm wondering if I should choose another subject? If so, what? Would computing be a good idea?

I'm interested in picking up some programming skills specifically for modeling or solving physics-related things. Like solving PDE problems, like the heat or wave equation boundary problems I had in my PDE course. I'd also like to learn how to make animated simulations of the solution for...

Hello, I'm a UK user, I'm 15 but I'm in lower 6th thanks to being accelerated a year. I'm very interested in physics, but I was wondering how different are the BSc courses in Computational Physics and straight Physics. Thing is, I'm not sure I'm intelligent enough to do straight physics, but I...

As I understand it, the days of paper and pencil are mostly over. So what exactly do computational physicists do that that makes them different from theoretical physicists?

Hello all, I am currently doing an engineering degree. I am interested in doing physics related computing. Can anyone tell me what exactly is simulation? I don't have a thorough background in physics but I am willing to learn. Is that okay to work in the field of "computational physics"...

Is a computational physics major a good compromise for someone who is not sure if they'd like to go deeper into physics, or start working for scientific or software companies?I ask because I live in the Bay area, and with Silicon Valley here, would a B.S. in applied physics sound like a good...

I'd like to apply to university in an undergrad physics program because I love math and physics (I took college mechanics, E&M and currently taking waves and modern physics). The university I plan to go to offers different specializations for the final year, one of them being computational...

I read a book about Feynman,saying that the chemistry may be explained by quantum physics. I got a question now: Are there anybody on the world had maken a practical numerical model which had modeled any chemistry reaction successfully from principle of Physics? I know some chemistry people...

Well, I just learned that my department offers a Computational Physics sequences for 1 year. From the syllabus, it seems computational physics involves numerical analysis and some simulations. I want to know, is this a subject by itself (meaning there are some researches going on it...

Hello, I am a Computer Science and Engineering B.Tech. from ISM Dhanbad (equivalent to IIT), India. Recently, I have become interested in the Computational Physics MS program which I read about on this forum (recommended many times by ZapperZ). The interest arose mainly because I have always...

Hi! I'm a Canadian student who's starting an honors physics program (with a minor in compsci) this coming fall. I'm trying to figure out where I should go for my master's and PhD. I'm interested in computational physics, and also have an interest in astrophysics and condensed matter physics...

I need an idea for a final project for my computational physics course. The problem is that I've only had intro mechanics and intro E&M courses so far and I'm currently taking modern physics. It seems like any interesting projects would require more physics than I've had so far. I was...

I'm a 3rd year physics major and my friend is a 3rd year computer science major, and for a bit of fun we want to do some sort of project that will utilize both of our skills. Some sort of computational physics problem seems appropriate, but with my limited knowledge, it seems that a lot of them...

Homework Statement I tried to solve mechanical system of particles. I first tried with two particles rotating with respect to each other. Of course, i solved this using computer with Runge kutta 4th order method. Here's the problem. I used the same method in C and Mathematica. In mathematica it...

Using Matlab to solve for the satellite motion in a central gravitational field F=-GmM r/r2. Motion is in a plane.Variables are position(x,y),velocity(vx,vy) and accelration (ax,ay). Apply the leapfrog method.I need the theoretical solution alone to input into Matlab. Thanks.

Hi All. I'm an engineering student switching over to physics. I was wondering what would be some of the courses that I would have to take if I wanted to get proficient at crudely modeling physical phenomenon...e.g collapse of a proto solar disk...formation of planets, impacts of comets etc...

Homework Statement I am taking a computational physics course right now and we have to do a project for the semester. I have been trying to think of a project to do. It can be a pretty wide range of things. So far we have been doing various numerical approximations with different...

Hello, I have recently become interested in computational physics. I know a good deal of Mathematica. Recently I have heard great things about Python. My questions are: 1) How useful is Python in computation? 2) Would there be a better program to learn instead of Python for computation? Any...

Hi all. This question has been asked previously on this forum but there was no reply I think. Which are the good programs for computational physics? I did (am doing) my Bachelor's and Master's in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Bombay. I got interested in CFD at first, but then my senior thesis...

I *think* I am interested in Computational Physics, from what I have seen around from Googling the topic, as well as from some YouTube videos. I was wondering what kind of careers are available for someone interested in Computational Physics (I want to do something in research) and are...

A complete set of lecture notes for an upper-division computational physics course. Topics covered include scientific programming in C, the numerical solution of ordinary and partial differential equations, particle-in-cell codes, and Montecarlo methods...

Pretty much every professor in my physics department has said that it when it comes to American physics graduate school, it is harder to get in as a theory student than as an experimentalist. Do graduate programs consider computational physics, numerical material sciences, etc... essentially...

Computational Physics: http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/329/lectures/lectures.html An introductory course Integration of ODEs The chaotic pendulum Poisson's equation The diffusion equation The wave equation Particle-in-cell codes Monte-Carlo methods All very...

I am in need of a project that needs to be based around "computational physics" firstly, can someone define "computational physics" for me? My best understanding is that it's the physics that have more to do with math and equations versus physical exploitations. secondly, does anyone have...

On the surface, Computational Physics appeals to me a lot. I'm very interested in physics, computer programming, creating simulations of mechanical systems, and games programming. However, I don't really know what Computational Physics is. What would I learn? How attractive would I be to...

Hello, I have to write a MATLAB program for a problem that utilizes a M-function. I was curious if you guys knew of any good websites that have some sample code for such problems. Also, I am somewhat familiar with programming in C++. How much does MATLAB differ from this language? Any help is...

Computational Physics can be frustrating sometimes... Just realized that my past eleven weeks of work has been entirely invalidated due to single error in my simulation inputs. Arrrg. On the upside, I think I've got the process down now, so its just a matter of rerunning everything...

Are there many interesting computational physics problems out there? Are there any comet trajectories that will deviate from a standard ellipse? For some reason plotting the path of a baseball just doesn't spark my interest.

Hey, In doing a circuit simulation i want to allocate a matrix like this (c++) double S1store[3][steps+1] i get no compiling errors, but if i make steps greater then 28000 the program gives me a windows error and crashes, it runs fine on a unix system. is there a limit to the amount of...