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Doing physics with microcomputers

DEC 01, 1983
An ordinary personal computer can be used to do large‐scale calculations in physics at a great savings in cost and added personal convenience for the researcher.
Per Bak

In the past year or so, the sale of microcomputers has increased from a few thousand to millions a year. Today, you can walk into a toy store and buy a computer for a few hundred dollars. Most micros are probably used for recreation, and until recently they have not been taken very seriously by scientists.

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References

  1. 1. L. Jacobs, C. Rebbi, J. Comp. Phys. 41, 203 (1981).https://doi.org/JCTPAH

  2. 2. S. Kirkpatrick and E. Stoll, J. Comp. Phys. 40, 517 (1981).https://doi.org/JCTPAH

  3. 3. N. Hampshire, VIC Revealed, Computabis Ltd., Yeovil, England (1981).

  4. 4. C. Domb, in Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena, C. Domb and M. Green, eds., Academic, New York (1974), Vol. 3.

  5. 5. See, for instance, D. P. Landau, Phys. Rev. B14, 255 (1976).

  6. 6. R. H. Swendsen, Phys. Rev. B20, 2080 (1979); https://doi.org/PRBMDO
    H. W. Blöte, R. H. Swendsen, Phys. Rev. B20, 2077 (1979).https://doi.org/PRBMDO

  7. 7. W. Selke, M. E. Fisher, Phys. Rev. B20, 257 (1979).https://doi.org/PRBMDO

More about the authors

Per Bak, BNL.

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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 36, Number 12

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