Re: [Phys-l] Simulations and Computer Homework Problems for Freshman and Sophomores

[chuck britton <cvbritton@mac.com>]

Another example of the importance of visualization:

The 1996 Noble Prize in Physics went to a group at Cornell for work 
done in 1972.
This link shows the curve traced out on a chart recorder that was the 
basis for the discovery.
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1996/press.html
The immediate real time visualization of the Pressure vs Time data 
was the crux of their success.

It has been pointed out on this list that another lab in So. Cal. (La 
Jolla) had recorded the same P vs T data to much higher precision, 
but it was recorded as columns of digital data and was only later put 
into graphical form that verified the chart paper traces from Cornell.

I would put this VERY high on the list for reasons why visualization 
(of data or for simulation output) is important.
.
At 9:54 PM -0700 12/10/11, John Denker wrote:
> On 12/10/2011 09:58 AM, I wrote:
>
> >                   science
> >                  /       \
> >                 /         \
> >           theory           experiment
> >            /  \
> >           /    \
> >     algebra   simulation
>
>
> The question arises, what about visualization?
>
> The answer is that visualization is important.  It's importance
> spans all the categories given above:
>  -- You can visualize an algebraic formula.  For example, it may be
>   worth plotting 0.5 a t^2 versus t, as a model of the motion of a
>   freely-falling object.  As a slightly more advanced example,
>   consider the Shockley diode equation.  It really pays to plot
>   that, because the concept of "diode drop" is not built into the
>   equation, but emerges as a none-too-obvious consequence.
>  -- You can visualize simulation results.
>  -- You can visualize experimental data.
>
> This is relevant to the current thread, at least tangentially, because
> often computers provide the best way of visualizing some result ...
> including /but not limited to/ simulation results.
>
> In particular, plotting stuff with ye olde spreadsheet application is
> a good example of doing science with a computer.  It has the advantage
> of being interactive:  If you change the data, the graph changes immediately.
> It also has the advantage of not having much barrier to entry;  it does
> not require any fancy programming language.
>
> On 12/10/2011 06:00 PM, Forinash III, Kyle wrote in part:
>
> > >  Simulations have to be interactive. They can't be just visualizations.
>
> I agree with the sentiment, but I might have worded it differently.
>  a) visualizing an interactive model is good.
>  b) visualizing a one-shot static model is not so good.
>
> The problem with (b) is not the visualization;  the problem is the
> inflexible model.
>
> It's not worth arguing about whether it is better to have a good
> model without good visualization or vice versa;  I reckon you need
> *both* a good model and good visualization;  otherwise the whole
> enterprise is not worth the trouble.
>
> ===========================