The need for computers in science

Over the last few decades, computers have become part of everyday life. Once the domain of science and business, today almost every home has a personal computer (PC), and children grow up learning expressions like “hardware,” “software,” and “IRQ.” However, teaching computational techniques to undergraduates is just starting to become part of the science curriculum. Computational skills are essential to prepare students both for graduate school and for today's work environment.

Physics is a corner-stone of every technological field. When you have a solid understanding of physics, and the computational know-how to calculate solutions to complex problems, success is sure to follow you in the high-tech environment of the twenty-first century.

What is computational physics?

Computational physics provides a means to solve complex numerical problems. In itself it will not give any insight into a problem (after all, a computer is only as intelligent as its user), but it will enable you to attack problems which otherwise might not be solvable. Recall your first physics course. A typical introductory physics problem is to calculate the motion of a cannon ball in two dimensions. This problem is always treated without air resistance. One of the difficulties of physics is that the moment one goes away from such an idealized system, the task rapidly becomes rather complicated. If we want to calculate the solution with real-world elements (e.g., drag), things become rather difficult.