Skip to content Skip to footer
-70%

Learn Physics with Functional Programming by Scott N. Walck, ISBN-13: 978-1718501669

Original price was: $50.00.Current price is: $14.99.

 Safe & secure checkout

Description

Description

Learn Physics with Functional Programming: A Hands-on Guide to Exploring Physics with Haskell by Scott N. Walck, ISBN-13: 978-1718501669

[PDF eBook eTextbook] – Available Instantly

  • Publisher: ‎ No Starch Press (January 31, 2023)
  • Language: ‎ English
  • ISBN-10: ‎ 1718501668
  • ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1718501669

Deepen your understanding of physics by learning to use the Haskell functional programming language.

Learn Physics with Functional Programming is your key to unlocking the mysteries of theoretical physics by coding the underlying math in Haskell.

You’ll use Haskell’s type system to check that your code makes sense as you deepen your understanding of Newtonian mechanics and electromagnetic theory, including how to describe and calculate electric and magnetic fields.

As you work your way through the book’s numerous examples and exercises, you’ll learn how to:

  • Encode vectors, derivatives, integrals, scalar fields, vector fields, and differential equations
  • Express fundamental physical principles using the logic of Haskell’s type system to clarify Newton’s second law, Coulomb’s law, the Biot-Savart law, and the Maxwell equations
  • Use higher-order functions to express numerical integration and approximation methods, such as the Euler method and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method
  • Create graphs, models, and animations of physical scenarios like colliding billiard balls, waves in a guitar string, and a proton in a magnetic field

Whether you’re using this book as a core textbook for a computational physics course or for self-study, Learn Physics with Functional Programming will teach you how to use the power of functional programming to explore the beautiful ideas of theoretical physics.

Table of Contents:

Cover Page

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

About the Author

About the Technical Reviewer

Brief Contents

Contents in Detail

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Who This Book Is For

Why Functional Programming, and Why Haskell?

About This Book

PART I A HASKELL PRIMER FOR PHYSICISTS

1 CALCULATING WITH HASKELL

A Kinematics Problem

The Interactive Compiler

Numeric Functions

Operators

Precedence and Associativity

The Application Operator

Functions with Two Arguments

Numbers in Haskell

Negative Numbers in Haskell

Decimal Numbers in Haskell

Exponential Notation

Approximate Calculation

Errors

Getting Help and Quitting

More Information

Summary

Exercises

2 WRITING BASIC FUNCTIONS

Constants, Functions, and Types

How We Talk About Functions

Anonymous Functions

Composing Functions

Variable Not in Scope Error

Summary

Exercises

3 TYPES AND ENTITIES

Basic Types

The Boolean Type

The Character Type

The String Type

Numeric Types

Function Types

Summary

Exercises

4 DESCRIBING MOTION

Position and Velocity on an Air Track

Types for Physical Quantities

Introducing Derivatives

Derivatives in Haskell

Modeling the Car’s Position and Velocity

Modeling Acceleration

Approximate Algorithms and Finite Precision

Summary

Exercises

5 WORKING WITH LISTS

List Basics

Selecting an Element from a List

Concatenating Lists

Arithmetic Sequences

List Types

Functions for Lists of Numbers

When Not to Use a List

Type Variables

Type Conversion

The Length of Lists

A String Is a List of Characters

List Comprehensions

Infinite Lists

List Constructors and Pattern Matching

Summary

Exercises

6 HIGHER-ORDER FUNCTIONS

How to Think About Functions with Parameters

Mapping a Function Over a List

Iteration and Recursion

Anonymous Higher-Order Functions

Operators as Higher-Order Functions

Combinators

Predicate-Based Higher-Order Functions

Numerical Integration

Introducing Integrators

Digital Integration

Implementing Antiderivatives

Summary

Exercises

7 GRAPHING FUNCTIONS

Using Library Modules

Standard Library Modules

Other Library Modules

Plotting

Function Only

Function and Module

Function, Module, and Plot Definition

Summary

Exercises

8 TYPE CLASSES

Type Classes and Numbers

Type Classes from the Prelude

The Eq Type Class

The Show Type Class

The Num Type Class

The Integral Type Class

The Ord Type Class

The Fractional Type Class

The Floating Type Class

Exponentiation and Type Classes

Sections

Example of Type Classes and Plotting

Summary

Exercises

9 TUPLES AND TYPE CONSTRUCTORS

Pairs

Currying a Function of Two Variables

Triples

Comparing Lists and Tuples

Maybe Types

Lists of Pairs

Tuples and List Comprehensions

Type Constructors and Kinds

Numerical Integration Redux

Summary

Exercises

10 DESCRIBING MOTION IN THREE DIMENSIONS

Three-Dimensional Vectors

Coordinate-Free Vectors

Geometric Definition of Vector Addition

Geometric Definition of Scaling a Vector

Geometric Definition of Vector Subtraction

Geometric Definition of Dot Product

Geometric Definition of Cross Product

Derivative of a Vector-Valued Function

Coordinate Systems

Vector Addition with Coordinate Components

Vector Scaling with Coordinate Components

Vector Subtraction with Coordinate Components

Dot Product with Coordinate Components

Cross Product with Coordinate Components

Derivative with Coordinate Components

Kinematics in 3D

Defining Position, Velocity, and Acceleration

Two Components of Acceleration

Projectile Motion

Making Your Own Data Type

Single Data Constructor

Multiple Data Constructors

Defining a New Data Type for 3D Vectors

Possible Implementations

Data Type Definition for Vec

Vec Functions

Summary

Exercises

11 CREATING GRAPHS

Title and Axis Labels

Other Labels

Plotting Data

Multiple Curves on One Set of Axes

Controlling the Plot Ranges

Making a Key

Summary

Exercises

12 CREATING STAND-ALONE PROGRAMS

Using GHC to Make a Stand-Alone Program

Hello, World!

A Program That Imports Modules

Using Cabal to Make a Stand-Alone Program

Using Stack to Make a Stand-Alone Program

Summary

Exercises

13 CREATING 2D AND 3D ANIMATIONS

2D Animation

Displaying a 2D Picture

Making a 2D Animation

Making a 2D Simulation

3D Animation

Displaying a 3D Picture

Making a 3D Animation

Making a 3D Simulation

Summary

Exercises

PART II EXPRESSING NEWTONIAN MECHANICS AND SOLVING PROBLEMS

14 NEWTON’S SECOND LAW AND DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Newton’s First Law

Newton’s Second Law in One Dimension

Second Law with Constant Forces

Second Law with Forces That Depend Only on Time

Air Resistance

Second Law with Forces That Depend Only on Velocity

Euler Method by Hand

Euler Method in Haskell

The State of a Physical System

Second Law with Forces That Depend on Time and Velocity

Method 1: Produce a List of States

Method 2: Produce a Velocity Function

Example: Pedaling and Coasting with Air Resistance

Euler Method by Hand

Method 1: Produce a List of States

Method 2: Produce a Velocity Function

Summary

Exercises

15 MECHANICS IN ONE DIMENSION

Introductory Code

Forces That Depend on Time, Position, and Velocity

A General Strategy for Solving Mechanics Problems

Solving with Euler’s Method

Producing a List of States

Position and Velocity Functions

A Damped Harmonic Oscillator

Euler Method by Hand

Method 1: Producing a List of States

Method 2: Producing Position and Velocity Functions

Euler-Cromer Method

Solving Differential Equations

Generalizing the State Space

Type Classes for State Spaces

One More Numerical Method

Comparison of Numerical Methods

Summary

Exercises

16 MECHANICS IN THREE DIMENSIONS

Introductory Code

Newton’s Second Law in Three Dimensions

The State of One Particle

Solving Newton’s Second Law

One-Body Forces

Earth Surface Gravity

Gravity Produced by the Sun

Air Resistance

Wind Force

Force from Uniform Electric and Magnetic Fields

State Update for One Particle

Preparing for Animation

Two Helpful Animation Functions

How the Functions Work

Summary

Exercises

17 SATELLITE, PROJECTILE, AND PROTON MOTION

Satellite Motion

State-Update Function

Initial State

Time-Scale Factor

Animation Rate

Display Function

Projectile Motion with Air Resistance

Calculating a Trajectory

Finding the Angle for Maximum Range

2D Animation

3D Animation

Proton in a Magnetic Field

Summary

Exercises

18 A VERY SHORT PRIMER ON RELATIVITY

A Little Theory

A Replacement for Newton’s Second Law

Response to a Constant Force

Proton in a Magnetic Field

Summary

Exercises

19 INTERACTING PARTICLES

Newton’s Third Law

Two-Body Forces

Universal Gravity

Constant Repulsive Force

Linear Spring

Central Force

Elastic Billiard Interaction

Internal and External Forces

The State of a Multi-Particle System

State Update for Multiple Particles

Implementing Newton’s Second Law

Numerical Methods for Multiple Particles

Composite Functions

Summary

Exercises

20 SPRINGS, BILLIARD BALLS, AND A GUITAR STRING

Introductory Code

Two Masses and Two Springs

Forces

Animation Functions

Stand-Alone Animation Program

Using Mechanical Energy as a Guide to Numerical Accuracy

A Collision

Data Representations

Spring Constant and Time Step

Momentum and Energy Conservation

Numerical Issues

Animated Results

Wave on a Guitar String

Forces

State-Update Function

Initial State

Stand-Alone Program

Asynchronous Animation

Summary

Exercises

PART III EXPRESSING ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY AND SOLVING PROBLEMS

21 ELECTRICITY

Electric Charge

Coulomb’s Law

Two Charges Interacting

Looking at Extremes

Modeling the Situation in Haskell

Summary

Exercises

22 COORDINATE SYSTEMS AND FIELDS

Polar Coordinates

Cylindrical Coordinates

Spherical Coordinates

Introductory Code

A Type for Position

Defining the New Type

Making a Position

Using a Position

Displacement

The Scalar Field

The Vector Field

Functions for Visualizing Scalar Fields

3D Visualization

2D Visualization

Functions for Visualizing Vector Fields

3D Visualization

2D Visualization

Gradient Visualization

Summary

Exercises

23 CURVES, SURFACES, AND VOLUMES

Introductory Code

Curves

Parameterizing Curves

Examples of Curves

Surfaces

Parameterizing Surfaces

Examples of Surfaces

Orientation

Volumes

Summary

Exercises

24 ELECTRIC CHARGE

Charge Distributions

Introductory Code

A Type for Charge Distribution

Examples of Charge Distributions

Total Charge

Total Charge of a Line Charge

Total Charge of a Surface Charge

Total Charge of a Volume Charge

Calculating Total Charge in Haskell

Electric Dipole Moment

Summary

Exercises

25 ELECTRIC FIELD

What Is an Electric Field?

Introductory Code

Charge Creates an Electric Field

Electric Field Created by a Point Charge

Electric Field Created by Multiple Charges

Electric Field Created by a Line Charge

Electric Field Created by a Surface Charge

Electric Field Created by a Volume Charge

Scalar Integrals

Scalar Line Integral

Scalar Surface Integral

Scalar Volume Integral

Approximating Curves, Surfaces, and Volumes

Approximating a Curve

Approximating a Surface

Approximating a Volume

Summary

Exercises

26 ELECTRIC CURRENT

Current Distributions

Introductory Code

A Type for Current Distribution

Examples of Current Distributions

Conservation of Charge and Constraints on Steady Current Distributions

Magnetic Dipole Moment

Summary

Exercises

27 MAGNETIC FIELD

A Simple Magnetic Effect

Introductory Code

Current Creates Magnetic Field

Magnetic Field Created by a Line Current

Magnetic Field Created by a Surface Current

Magnetic Field Created by a Volume Current

Summary

Exercises

28 THE LORENTZ FORCE LAW

Introductory Code

Statics and Dynamics

State of One Particle and Fields

Lorentz Force Law

Do We Really Need an Electric Field?

State Update

Animating a Particle in Electric and Magnetic Fields

Uniform Fields

Classical Hydrogen

Summary

Exercises

29 THE MAXWELL EQUATIONS

Introductory Code

The Maxwell Equations

Relationships Between Electricity and Magnetism

Connection to Coulomb’s Law and Biot-Savart Law

State Update

Spatial Derivatives and the Curl

A Naive Method

The FDTD Method

The Yee Cell

A Type for State

FDTD and the Curl

State Update

Animation

Current Density

Grid Boundary

Display Function

Two Helping Functions

Main Program

Summary

Exercises

APPENDIX: INSTALLING HASKELL

Installing GHC

Installing a Text Editor

Installing Gnuplot

Installing Haskell Library Packages

Using Cabal

Using Stack

Installing Gloss

Installing Diagrams

Setting Up Your Coding Environment

What We Want in a Coding Environment

All Code in One Directory

One Way to Use Stack

Summary

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Scott N. Walck has a PhD in Physics from Lehigh University and has been a professor of physics, including computational physics, to undergraduates for over 20 years at Lebanon Valley College. He has also written academic articles and given talks on the use of functional programming in teaching physics.

What makes us different?

• Instant Download

• Always Competitive Pricing

• 100% Privacy

• FREE Sample Available

• 24-7 LIVE Customer Support

Delivery Info

Reviews (0)

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Learn Physics with Functional Programming by Scott N. Walck, ISBN-13: 978-1718501669”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *