| Computers have changed the way physics is done, but those changes are only slowly making their way into the typical physics curriculum. This textbook is designed to help speed that transition.
Computational physics is now widely accepted as a third, equally valid complement to the traditional experimental and theoretical approaches to physics. It clearly relies upon areas that lie some distance from the traditional physics curriculum, however. In this text, I attempt to provide a reasonably thorough, numerically sound foundation for its development. However, I have not attempted to be rigorous; this is not meant to be a text on numerical analysis. Likewise, this is not a programming manual: I assume that the student is already familiar with the elements of the computer language, and is ready to apply it to the task of scientific computing.
The FORTRAN language is used throughout this text. It is widely available, continually updated, and remains the most commonly used programming language in science. Recent FORTRAN compilers written by Microsoft provide access to many graphics routines, enabling students to generate simple figures from within their FORTRAN programs running on PCcompatible microcomputers. Such graphics capabilities greatly enhance the value of the computer experience. |
