Monte Carlo methods require a series of random numbers. The most straightforward way to obtain these numbers is to use the rand() function in Matlab or a similar function in a different software system. These numbers are, of course, only pseudo-random – they are generated by an algorithm and no actual chance is […]

The earliest known mention of matrices to solve systems of linear equations occurred in Jiuzhang suanshu or Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, a Chinese mathematical treatise from 100 to 200 BC. The treatise not only describe the process of Naive Gaussian Elimination to solve linear equations but also introduces the concept of a […]

Several of the previous posters already addressed the applications of numerical computation to modeling molecules and atoms. While searching for an article for this post, I found an interesting example of such research here. The study, by Bern Kohler and Yu Kay Law, looks at DNA damage from UV rays.
A DNA molecule can […]