In the summer of 2000 Chris Heneghan, wrote some simulations in Java. He was then a 4th year student in the Mathematical Sciences programme at DCU. The simulations were designed for students doing project work as part of the DCU modules:
One motivation for these was the book From Calculus to Chaos: An Introduction to Dynamics by David Acheson, published by Oxford University Press. For details click
This book has 10 QBasic programs to aid readers explore dynamics through examples. Instead of using these programs, Java applets were written, partly because students taking the above modules had experience of programming in Java, and partly because Java applets run on any computer platform.
The simulations are run by clicking on the following links. The applets may not run if you are using older browsers, but they certainly run in Firefox version 3.5.3. If you experience problems, check that your browser has Java "plug-ins" or "add-ons" enabled.
- Double pendulum
- Forced double pendulum
- Vibrating pendulum
- Two body problem
- Restricted three body problem
- Predator-prey
The work was funded by DCU's Learning and Innovation Unit.