Simulations for March 2006 Workshop

This list of applets has been produced primarily for the Workshop on Simulations on 29 March 2006, but it may have a wider use. The first sections have some links to useful information, and then I give a number of publicly available animations and simulations that I think you might like to see. These are only a small subset of all the good stuff that is out there. Those that I plan to use in my talk I have highlighted.

Workshop and related links

Lists of Applets and Flash simulations/animations

Edinburgh listing of applets for introductory physics
Guelph list of their applets for physics and maths
Applets from Paul Falstad, and his list of others
Applets in maths and physics from Surendranath Reddy
Physlets from the tremendous Davidson site
Introductory (mostly) physics Flash simulations and Animations from the University of Toronto
Physics 2000 applets

Electricity and Magnetism

E-field around point charge MIT Shockwave
E-field around an electric dipole MIT Shockwave
**Electrostatic fields and equipotentials around charge distributions, Falstad applet
Electric field and equipotentials around a dipole, Physlet
Electric fields and equipotentials from point charge and pair of charges, applet Surendranath Reddy
**Charged particle in electric field from point source Physics 2000 Applet
**Summing up E-field contributions from along a charged rod, MIT Shockwave
**E field anywhere around a charged rod, MIT Shockwave
Electric field on axis of a charged ring, summing up contributions, MIT Shockwave
Electric field anywhere around a charged ring, MIT Shockwave
Magnetic field due to a current element, MIT Schockwave
Magnetic field due to a ring of current, MIT Shockwave
Falling coil, large MIT applet
Induced currents by changing magnetic flux through coil, Guelph Applet
Magnetic field anywhere around a ring of current, MIT Shockwave
Charged particle moving in a magnetic field, applet Surendranath Reddy
MIT Open Coursewave list of E&M Visualisations

Waves

**Ripple tank, Falstad applet, my "favourite" of the ripple tanks that I have found
Wave pulse superposition, St Andrews applet based on a Physlet
Wave pulse superposition, applet Surendranath Reddy
**Reflection of a wavetrain to create a standing wave, St Andrews applet based on a Physlet
Transverse wave reflection at free or fixed end - Surendranath Reddy
Adding two co-propagating waves of variable amplitude and wavelength, applet from Physics 2000
Adding waves of variable amplitude and frequency, Edinburgh applet from LTSN Development Project
Beats between two waves applet from Surendranath Reddy
Beats between two waves, group velocity, Physlet
Beats between oscillators and waves, explanations including sound output, Toronto Flash
**Fourier series, including sound, Falstad applet

Optics

**Total Internal Reflection applet from Guelph
Refraction and Total Internal Relection, Toronto Flash
Single Slit Diffraction applet from Guelph
**Two beam interference applet from Physics 2000
Image formation by an ideal single converging lens, applet from Guelph
Image formation by an ideal single diverging lens, applet from Guelph
Image formation by an ideal convex mirror, applet from Guelph
Image formation in ideal lenses and mirrors, applet from Surendranath Reddy
Exact ray tracing in lenses and mirrors, applet from Centre for Experimental and Constructive Mathematics
Exact ray tracing through a thick lens, physlet
Exact ray tracing showing spherical abberation in a mirror, physlet
Problem example on focal lengths for students with Physlets
**Adding up oscillations of different phase - polarisation ideas - St Andrews Flash
Absorption in a Polaroid, applet from Physics 2000
Polaroid effect on specular reflection from Physics 2000
Waveplate action in a polarising microscope, applet from Molecular Expressions
Laser cooling from Physics 2000
Optical Molasses from Physics 2000
Listing of Optics Applets from Aberdeen University
Listing of Optics Physlets from Davidson
Optics Applets from Barcelona

Mechanics

Braking - velocity and displacement against time, Applet from Surendranath Reddy
Acceleration, velocity, and distance, avoiding a crash, Applet from Surendranath Reddy
Boat going across river - relative velocities, Applet from Surendranath Reddy
**Rotational Motion - driven turntable, Applet from Edinburgh (developed under LTSN project funding)
Projectile motion, Flash from University of Toronto
Racing balls question, Flash from University of Toronto
Galilean relativity, balls falling in different frames of reference, Flash from University of Toronto
Elastic and inelastic collisions, airtrack simulation, Flash from University of Toronto
Variable damping in SHM, Flash from University of Toronto

Thermal Physics

**Ideal gas and temperature, Applet from Physics 2000
Ideal gas, molecules moving in a cylinder, Applet from Surendranath Reddy
Lennard Jones gas, applet from Edinburgh funded by LTSN project

Quantum Mechanics

**Finite depth potential well, Physlet from Davidson site
Simple harmonic oscillator, Physlet
**Wavefunctions in lattice, Physlet

Maths

Dot product MIT Shockwave
Dot product Toronto Flash
Cross product MIT Shockwave
Cross product Toronto Flash
Coordinate Systems MIT Shockwave
Spherical Polars - 3D diagram in Java from Surendath Reddy
Surface integral - MIT Shockwave
Line integral - MIT Shockwave
Derivative as a slope - Toronto Flash
Integral as area under a curve, starting from sets of vertical rectangles, Toronto Flash

Languages

Tutorial on using Flash for creating animations and simulations, University of Toronto
Tutorial on using Java, from Sun Microsystems
Flash Professional from Pugh Computers Ltd
Flash Professional from Adobe site
Physlets (use Java scripting to make bespoke applets from the Davidson Source) [see also Physlets book and CD by W Christian and M Belloni on eg Amazon]

BDS 30.3.06