Building a quantum computer, the three-body problem, and the turbulence of nuclear fusion: these are systems that can’t be cracked with a pen and paper. While textbooks focus on the rare cases that fit into a formula, most of the universe is stubborn. To understand how these systems behave, we have to start simulating.
In this semilab, we will master numerical simulation. We’ll start by defining the concept of a differential equation and then use Python to solve it. You will build your own physical worlds from scratch, coding simulators where planets collide or slingshot into the abyss, and solving the Schrödinger equation to see how qubits actually behave. By the end of the week, you will learn how to program the laws of nature to observe the behavior of complex, real-world systems.
Prerequisites: some experience with Python or any other programming language