Week 6, starting Monday 6th November
All work should be completed in the session for which it is set. Work carried over for marking in the following week will only receive half the credit. Note that the session ends at 5:30pm, and work should be marked by this time. Please get each exercise marked as you finish it.
This week you should complete the following task:
The use of random numbers (really pseudo-random numbers) in a computer is a powerful tool for the simulation of physical processes. In task 7 (random numbers in simulations) we first investigate some properties of random numbers and meet the central limit thereom - the saving grace for many physicists! You then simulate the exponential decay of nuclei using two different methods.
You may optionally investigate the 'Drunkard's walk' -
a classical random process -
in task 8
but this exercise will not be assessed.
This exercise
also introduces you to some sophisticated use of the Excel functions to
save tedious typing of formuale.