Editing Computer simulation techniques

<blockquote>''"In those pieces of apparatus [computing machines] I see not only devices to make the forces of nature serviceable in new ways, no, I view them with much greater respect; I dare say that I see in them the true devices for unveiling the essence of things"''
:::[[Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann]] <ref>"The Second Law of the Mechanical Theory of Heat" (1886) (Note: this quote and reference is taken from p. 110 of Engelbert Broda (English translation with Larry Gay) "Ludwig Boltzmann - Man, Physicist, Philosopher" Ox Bow Press (1983) ISBN 0918024242
, but I have as yet been unable to corroborate this reference).</ref></blockquote>
'''Computer simulations''' are used to obtain quantitative results, under various thermodynamic conditions, for [[realistic models]] which are parametrised to study a specific atomic or molecular system with a certain degree of realism, or [[force fields]], which  consist of  transferable parameters for molecular sub-units, usually at the atomistic level. Force fields are designed to be applicable to a variety of molecular systems, in particular for flexible molecules. Computer simulations are also used to perform "computer experiments" on [[idealised models]] in order to test theories with a view to arriving at a better understanding of the underlying physics of a system.

The two predominant computer simulation techniques used in the study of soft condensed matter are: 
*[[Molecular dynamics]]
and
*[[Monte Carlo]]
For a list of some of the computer programs available see: 
*[[Materials modelling and computer simulation codes]]
==Material common to both techniques==
{{columns-list|3|
*[[Coarse graining]]
*[[Computation of phase equilibria]]
*[[Configuration analysis]]
*[[Constrained cell method]]
*[[Dissipative particle dynamics]]
*[[Electrostatics]]
*[[Ergodic hypothesis]]
*[[Expanded ensemble method]]
*[[Finite size scaling]]
*[[Force fields]]
*[[Gibbs-Duhem integration]]
*[[Hybrid Monte Carlo]]
*[[Iterative Boltzmann inversion]]
*[[Models]]
*[[Multicanonical ensemble]]
*[[Neighbour lists]]
*[[Path integral formulation#Computer simulation techniques | Path integrals]]
*[[Periodic boundary conditions]]
*[[Self-referential method]]
*[[Smooth Particle methods]]
*[[Statistical-temperature simulation algorithm]]
*[[Synthetic method]]
*[[Tempering methods]]
*[[Test area method]]
*[[Test volume method]]
*[[Thermostats]]
*[[Wandering interface method]]
*[[Widom test-particle method]]
}}

==Interesting reading==
* W. W. Wood "Early history of computer simulations in statistical mechanics" in "Molecular-dynamics simulation of statistical-mechanical systems" (Eds. Giovanni Ciccotti and William G. Hoover) pp. 3-14  Società Italiana di Fisica (1986)
*[http://physicsworldarchive.iop.org/full/pwa-pdf/9/4/phwv9i4a24.pdf Daan Frenkel and Jean-Pierre Hansen "Understanding liquids: a computer game?", Physics World '''9'''  pp. 35–42 (April 1996)]
*[http://arxiv.org/abs/0812.2086 Wm. G. Hoover "50 Years of Computer Simulation -- A Personal View", arXiv:0812.2086v2 (2008)]
*[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.476021  Wilfred F. van Gunsteren, and Alan E. Mark "Validation of molecular dynamics simulation", Journal of Chemical Physics '''108''' pp. 6109-6116 (1998)]
*Richard P. Feynman "Simulating Physics With Computers", International Journal of Theoretical Physics '''21''' pp. 467-488 (1982)
[[category: Computer simulation techniques]]