In Whitney’s new approach to physics teaching, computer experimentation partially supplants laboratory work. The use of the desktop computer to gain an understanding of physical systems and their statistical properties is a bold strategy that is likely to gain popularity and acceptance as computers become more integrated into existing curricula. The text is suitable for home study and is full of suggestions from which a reader could set out upon a lone investigation. It is divided into four parts.
The first part introduces the concept of randomness in discrete space and how it can be simulated on the computer, then goes on to describe some basic physical processes that take place in a time continuum. The author uses graphics and simple Pascal-like programs as exploratory tools to introduce such phenomena as photon scattering and Brownian motion. The third part takes up the topic of dynamic processes, including the behavior of gases and stars. The fourth part contains some discussion of the statistical treatment of error, estimation, and optimization. The book ends with three appendices covering elementary probability theory and a rather novel use of spreadsheet software for statistical investigations.
The physics covered is quite wide in scope, including the thermodynamics of temperature and entropy, the Boltzmann distribution, and radiation transfer. A solution to a traveling salesman problem is demonstrated using simulated annealing. The style is cozy and pragmatic; the emphasis is on writing simple programs that mimic the various types of physical behavior. Deep theoretical discussion is avoided to enable the reader to gain some intuitive grasp of the processes being described. This is in contrast to classical approaches to physics, which, by their abstract nature, can appear forbidding to the newcomer. Overall the treatment is clear and pitched at an elementary level, although it is surprising to encounter such concepts as ergodicity in such a context.
As an introduction to statistics, one may welcome the attention given to Bertrand’s paradox and the entrance provided into what has traditionally been regarded as pedagogically difficult physics, namely thermodynamics. The author does not restrict the treatment to equilibrium processes. A full study of the possibilities of this approach to teaching would lead to a total rethinking of traditional course syllabuses. Perhaps because of the novelty of approach, the choice of subject matter will not suit everyone. The book concentrates on statistical physics and stellar processes (the author is a renowned astronomer), while more attention-grabbing areas such as chaos and fractals receive only passing comment.
It is to be regretted that, at an early stage of one’s induction into computer experimentation, some healthy skepticism could not be injected to avoid brainwashing the reader into thinking that the computer’s results are always “correct.” For instance, a reference to the problems of implementing random number generators [1] would not have gone amiss. Also, some definitions are rather strange. I find the description of a discrete event as “an atom of experience” charming, but perhaps a little misleading in a book with simulation in its title.
These criticisms are rather carping, however, and should not be allowed to detract from a book that is attempting to develop innovative ways of understanding complex phenomena. It is to be hoped that the book will stimulate interest among its readership and possibly encourage more authors to try their hand at computer experimentation.
