Mathematica for Physics

An appropriate supplement for any undergraduate or graduate course in physics, Mathematica¨ for Physics uses the power of Mathematica¨ to visualize and display physics concepts and generate numerical and graphical solutions to physics problems. Throughout the book, the complexity of both physics and Mathematica¨ is systematically extended to broaden the range of problems that can be solved.

An appropriate supplement for any undergraduate or graduate course in physics, Mathematica¨ for Physics uses the power of Mathematica¨ to visualize and display physics concepts and generate numerical and graphical solutions to physics problems. Throughout the book, the complexity of both physics and Mathematica¨ is systematically extended to broaden the range of problems that can be solved.

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This textbook illustrates how to apply the computer algebra program Mathematica to solve problems in physics. The first half of each chapter provides problems with solutions for undergraduate students, while the second half is intended for graduate students. The second edition reflects changes in version 3.0, and adds three chapters on nonlinear systems and chaos, discrete systems, and chaos and orbiting bodies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Fredrick Olness received his B.S. from Duke University (1980), his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin (1982,1985). Continuing his work-across-America tour, he took postdocs at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago (1985-88) and the University of Oregon in Eugene (1988-91), before joining Southern Methodist University in 1991 where he is now an Associate Professor of Physics. He is spending the 1997-98 academic year on sabbatical with the Theoretical Physics Group at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

His research is in theoretical elementary particle physics phenomenology, at the interface between theory and experiment. Specifically, he studies Quantum Chromodynamics (the fundamental force that binds nuclei) to help answer the questions: What are the fundamental building blocks of nature, and what holds them together?

Fredrick initiated the DOE theory grant at SMU in 1992, was awarded an SSC Fellowship in 1993, and is an active member CTEQ collaboration—a novel collaboration of theorists and experimentalists.

He has written over 50 research articles, served as a moderator for international workshops and conferences, and has been an invited speaker for international conferences and summer schools.