INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SIMULATIONS TO DEMONSTRATE THE BEHAVIOR OF GASES, LIQUIDS, AND SOLIDS ON AN ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR BASIS

EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING AT ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION IS ENHANCED BY DEMONSTRATION EQUIPMENT THAT RELATES TEXT BOOK CONCEPTS TO PHYSICAL OBSERVATIONS. NOT ONLY DOES THE TEACHER BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE IN HIS OR HER ABILITY TO EXPLAIN A PHENOMENON, BUT THE TRIGGERING OF INTEREST AND ENTHUSIASM BY STUDENTS IS GENERALLY MORE DRAMATIC. EFFECTIVE AND COMPREHENSIVE DEMONSTRATION MODELS OF THE DYNAMIC NATURE OF ATOMIC AND MOLEUCLAR INTERACTIONS DO NOT EXIST. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE OF MODELS WITH SUFFICIENT MATHEMATICAL AND SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY TO PERMIT THE TEACHER TO MODIFY A SPECIFIC INTERACTION PARAMETER AND SHOW THE SYSTEM'S RESPONSE. THE BEAUTY AND POWER OF KINETIC THEORY IS HIDDEN FROM ALMOST EVERY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT BECAUSE OF THE MATHEMATICS OR COMPUTING POWER REQUIRED FOR A TRUE UNDERSTANDING. SEVERAL TECHNIQUES COMBINED IN A MONTE CARLO FASHION TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF THESES CALCULATION HAVE RECENTLY BEEN DEMONSTRATED. A SIMULATION PERFORMED OVER 4000 PARTICLES ON A SMALL ONE MILLION INSTRUCTIONS PER SECOND COMPUTER PERFORMED 250 TIMES FASTER THAN SIMILAR CALCULATIONS ON A CRAY 1. THESE AND OTHER TECHNIQUES WILL BE EMPLOYED TO EXPAND THE APPLICABILITY OF MONTE CARLO MODELING AND TO INCLUDE ATTRACTIVE AND CHEMICAL INTERACTIONS TO DEMONSTRATE A WIDE SELECTION OF CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROCESSES SUCH AS DIFFUSION, PHASE CHANGES, VISCOSITY, HEAT TRANSFER, AND GAS PHASE CHEMISTRY. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO EXPLORE AND DEMONSTRATE THE RANGE OF PROCESSES WHICH CAN BE EXHIBITED. PHASE II WILL IMPLEMENT A WIDE RANGE OF DEMONSTRATIONS. PHASE II SHOULD RESULT IN A MARKETABLE COMPUTER DEMONSTRATION. A PROPERLY DONE INTERACTIVE VIDEO DISPLAY COULD TIE TOGETHER THE PHENOMENA AT A MOST ELEMENTARY, OBSERVATIONAL LEVEL, WHILE RETAINING THE INTEGRITY AND POWER TO CONTINUE TO EFFECTIVELY INSTRUCT THROUGH THE UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL.