Computer Simulations with Mathematica (R): Explorations in Complex Physical and Biological Systems [Hardcover]

Richard J. Gaylord (Author), Paul R. Wellin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 9, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0387942742 | ISBN-13: 978-0387942742 | Edition: 1

This book/CD-ROM package uses the Mathematica programming language to demonstrate the use of computer simulation as a research tool in all of the sciences, providing materials for students and professionals in such fields as physics, biology, chemistry, ecology, materials science and urban planning. The use of MathLink and "C" programs allow readers to run the most time and memory intensive algorithms through a C-compiler on a local machine. Only a minimal background in Mathematica programming is assumed. Self-contained explanations of the Mathematica and the use of MathLink are given in the Appendices. Equal emphasis is placed on the development of efficient Mathematica programs and on the visualization and numerical analysis of computer simulation results.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (March 9, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387942742
• ISBN-13: 978-0387942742
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,006,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars {short, nonsense-free, systematic, self-contained}->ELEGANT, September 11, 1998

By 

Tong Lu ([e-mail]) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computer Simulations with Mathematica (R): Explorations in Complex Physical and Biological Systems (Hardcover)

How does the algorithmic approach work diffently from the equational approach? Gaylord/Wellin's neat book demostrates that. In cases of the presence of technical difficulties and the absence of the representability in terms of equations, the algorithmic approach is gainning more and more significance and enjoys a promising future. The book covers both the probabilistic systems and cellular automata. Wide-reaching 14 physical and biological systems are presented to suit various readers' tastes. [It would be a plus if in 2nd edition, the economic systems are EXPLICITLY included, although the authors did put some, say, the random walk model, in the book.] Each chapter is short [thus, time-saving for self-study], nonsense-free,systematic, and self-contained. It starts from step-by-step code fragments, to the integration of parts into a elegant program. Then, it was wrapped up with the numerical analysis and visualization both to give a feel of the performance of the model and to blow in a strand of breeze in our sometimes dry computer programming work. [Hopefully in next edition the sample solutions to the end-of-chapter computer projects will be added.] Appendix A and B on MATHEMATICA programming and random number generators concentrate on a few essential points [rather than on everything] and the authors delivered them effectively. In a nutshell, if you're interested in simulation and if you'd like to use MATHEMATICA, I recommend this superb book by Gaylord/Wellin.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Book To Buy When Modeling Cellular Automata, February 10, 2001

By 

Stephen Ripple (Paso Robles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Computer Simulations with Mathematica (R): Explorations in Complex Physical and Biological Systems (Hardcover)

This is the book to buy if you want to build and run the Cellular Automata pioneered by Stephen Wolfram (inventor of "Mathematica" the absolute best math software and more). Like most of us who have been waiting for more than a decade for Wolfram to finish his opus magnum "A New Kind of Science" (available for pre-ordering here on Amazon.com), one can get a little tired of waiting and want to run some of the sterling images sneak pre-viewed on his WEB site to gain some of the same insights he has been gathering since first discovering this phenomenon in the early '80's. I first bought Gaylord's later book; "Modeling Nature",(also available here on Amazon.com)thinking that would be the definitive guide to actually programming and running the simulations on "Mathematica." It's a great book and has many good examples of other kinds of modeling software but not the kind we are interested in, his "ElementaryRules" for these [very] particular 1-Dimensional Cellular Automata. Buy it, program them, run them, view them, and forever have the way you view the world change!