SSS homepage--program list--postings log

General Information About the SSS Project

This package of 14 computer simulations with an accompanying guidebook was developed and tested over a three year period in a senior level course in solid state physics at Cornell University. The design aims were to increase students' motivation to learn; to give a new perspective, a visual one, through which students make contact with the material; and to provide a vehicle with which they may test out the validity of their newly forming concepts and techniques of analysis.

Simulations
The simulations were developed at Cornell to provide novel instructional material in senior and graduate level courses in Solid State Physics. Our principal goals were to use the simulations to give a visual route to the development of new concepts and to promote active participation by students as they worked with the material. The simulations use computing resources in two ways. One is to provide animation of processes at the atomic level, e.g., electron motion in metals or atomic motion during dislocation glide. The other is to perform and display the results of numerical calculations, e.g., phonon dispersion relations or space charge distributrion in semiconductor devices. The simulations use a "push button" computer interface and are NOT designed to give exercise in programming or algorithm development. The emphasis is on the illustration of important concepts.
The simulations may be browsed using the annotated preset system which leads the user to the interesting regions of the available parameter space. Work in depth with the programs, however, must be guided in some way and is best carried out using the accompanying guidebook.
You can find a more detailed description of the simulations along with samples from the displays by selecting a program of interest from the program list.
Guidebook
There is so much parameter space available in these programs, much of it not terribly interesting, that guidance through the programs is essential for them to be of use for students unfamiliar with the concepts. Simulations for Solid State Physics:an Interactive Resource for Students and Teachers leads students systematically through the physics illustrated by the programs. Each chapter contains a heavily interleaved mixture of concept development and student exercises closely coupled to one of the programs. Most exercises, usually involving the simulations, are an intrinsic part of the story line.
New Developments
As we have used this package over the last few years, students continue to find interesting parameter sets which illustrate yet another idea, or present an amusing puzzle. We expect future users to invent their own exercises to illustrate points we have missed; to suggest program changes that would make the simulations more useful; and, yes, even to find bugs in the programs. We invite users to share their ideas by sending mail to the SSS project. The postings log gives a chronological list of all of the postings and links to them.
Use Policy
The simulations described here are part of the Simulations for Solid State Physics (SSS) package, copyright by Cambridge University Press. If the book is not in your local bookstore, ordering information is available from Cambridge University Press-U.S., or Cambridge University Press-Rest of World.
The simulation programs, with some deletions, are available by ftp available by ftp for your inspection and trial. If you plan to make any significant use of the programs, you should buy the full package, Simulations for Solid State Physics: An Interactive Resource for Students and Teachers, Cambridge University Press, which includes a full CD-ROM with an accompanying guide book. Because of the extensive parameter space available for exploration, the guide book is essential for efficient use of the programs. Using many exercises and examples coupled to the simulations it is designed to illustrate important physical principles and to develop new concepts.
The CD-ROM, packaged ONLY with the hardback copy of the book (SBN--0-521-59094-9), includes a license to use the software on a local area network. It also includes registration details so that you can be informed of new versions or additional simulations. Softcover copies (SBN-0-521-59911-3), without the CD-ROM, are available at minimal cost for students to purchase and use in conjunction with the software installed on a local area network.
All royalties from the sale of the SSS materials will be used to maintain these Web pages, to provide bug fixes as best we can, and to upgrade the programs for as long as the user community shows sufficient interest.
Credits
The development of these simulations was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, thanks to the initiative, and with the strong encouragement, of Frank Mayadas. Thanks go to Russ Thompson for the adoption of tcl/tk as a graphical interface for the programs and for the programming of a standard user interface to ease the development of future programs. He performed much of the conversion to tcl-tk from an earlier version as well as writing the newer programs. In connection with this, we would also like to thank the Tcl/Tk Project for providing an excellent windowing toolkit that is portable across Unix, Windows, and Macintosh computers. Dan Vernon helped with much of the conversion of programs to the newer interface. Barry Robinson ported the programs to a number of platforms and has accomplished the impossible in getting the programs for Unix, Windows, and Mac all to work from a single CD. Jim Sethna's Ising program stimulated the initiation of the project and he has contributed critical ideas and enthusiasm. Bruce Roberts was always available to share his invaluable expertise to get us out of one hole after another.
SSS homepage--program list--postings log