| | July 20168CIOReviewExplore, Learn By Ravi Ravishanker, CIO & Associate Dean for WellesleyX, Wellesley CollegeIN MY OPINIONThe exact definition of a computer simulation is beyond the scope of this article. In general computer simulations are computer programs that help in creating scenarios based on a mathematical or statistical model. The advantage of a computer simulation is that it can help create millions of possible states of the model that is being simulated or in some cases simulate the evolution of a system being studied over time. Computer simulations require enormous computer resources and because of the availability of faster computers and ease of parallelization, it is being used in many different fields such as the sciences, social and behavioral sciences and by the military to simulate wars and study the outcomes.The earliest computer simulations were in the area of meteorology and nuclear physics following World War II. Stanislaw Ulam and John von Neumann developed the Monte Carlo method to study nuclear fission by using a well known theoretical model in physics and chemistry called the "hard sphere" model. Though this helped us to build the nuclear bomb, "Monte Carlo" method has been developed further over the years and is in use in many areas today. Monte Carlo simulations are based on generating a lot of random numbers and it was so called because Ulam's uncle used to gamble a lot in Monte Carlo by borrowing money from friends and relatives. However, as a grad student doing Monte Carlo simulations, I was told that the roulettes in Monte Carlo generated the best random numbers and thus the name!One of the earliest computer simulations was for the estimation of pi--the mathematical constant. This is called the Buffon's needle problem. If a needle is dropped on a floor made of strips of wood, all of the same width, what is the probability that the needle will cross a line? Buffon solved this theoretically, and a computer simulation can be performed by & Visualize Model Systems Safely in the Confines of a Computer--Computer SimulationsRavi Ravishanker
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