Using software simulations as a substitute for labs

[FragmentedCurve]

I'm an outsider to the physical sciences. My only real skill sets to date are math (of the pure kind) and CS. But I seem to have an undying desire to pursue goals and ideas in the physical sciences. (I say "physical sciences" because I don't want to limit myself to physics, chemistry, or material science.) Many of my goals sit at the intersection of research and invention.

Nobody is going to give me a lab and I don't have the means to build my own. Because I lack the means, I started gravitating towards existing hackerspaces (and possibly starting my own). COVID has put using hackerspaces to a halt. So, I started looking into using software simulations to experimentally test hypotheses.

Now, this kind of brings me into a world I'm more familiar and comfortable with. While researching the tools of the trade, it was obvious there's a lot various tools & techniques and they vary by niche. Each niche is a world of tools, techniques and jargon. Navigating these established communities only for the purpose of surveying what they have, for the sake of finding an application to a specific problem is time consuming.

Can the experts here pull together a list of software tools, books, papers and advice on the topics of computational physics, computational chemistry, and computational material science? Keep in mind, the context is the lone capable scholar using these tools and skills as a substitute for a lab.

[studiot]

1 hour ago, FragmentedCurve said:

I'm an outsider to the physical sciences. My only real skill sets to date are math (of the pure kind) and CS. But I seem to have an undying desire to pursue goals and ideas in the physical sciences. (I say "physical sciences" because I don't want to limit myself to physics, chemistry, or material science.) Many of my goals sit at the intersection of research and invention.

Nobody is going to give me a lab and I don't have the means to build my own. Because I lack the means, I started gravitating towards existing hackerspaces (and possibly starting my own). COVID has put using hackerspaces to a halt. So, I started looking into using software simulations to experimentally test hypotheses.

Now, this kind of brings me into a world I'm more familiar and comfortable with. While researching the tools of the trade, it was obvious there's a lot various tools & techniques and they vary by niche. Each niche is a world of tools, techniques and jargon. Navigating these established communities only for the purpose of surveying what they have, for the sake of finding an application to a specific problem is time consuming.

Can the experts here pull together a list of software tools, books, papers and advice on the topics of computational physics, computational chemistry, and computational material science? Keep in mind, the context is the lone capable scholar using these tools and skills as a substitute for a lab.

Caught me a bit short here, but I used Labview a good few years ago.

https://www.ni.com/en-gb/shop/labview.html?cid=Paid_Search-7013q0000020cz6AAA-Consideration-GoogleSearch_LabVIEW_LabVIEW&s_kwcid=AL!6304!3!449107487676!e!!g!!labview software&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6-SDBhCMARIsAGbI7UhYjOk-HTJWavP8DJsgGGHUSgrvuIhTuM16XeqosQwuJnCmHNBRluYaAr86EALw_wcB

 

Are you looking for free or commercial software ?

What about add ons to say MathCad, Mathematica, Wolfram Alfa etc ?

I also used to use a delightful software called DesignView.

AutoCad now has a pale imitation copy as an add on.

Sorry this is a bit rushed.

There used to be a Visio module for this as well.
 

You could help by narrowing the field of interest.

We already have a few threads on Chemistry molecule and reaction software.

 

Hope this helps

 

 

[FragmentedCurve]

11 hours ago, studiot said:

Caught me a bit short here, but I used Labview a good few years ago.

https://www.ni.com/en-gb/shop/labview.html?cid=Paid_Search-7013q0000020cz6AAA-Consideration-GoogleSearch_LabVIEW_LabVIEW&s_kwcid=AL!6304!3!449107487676!e!!g!!labview software&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6-SDBhCMARIsAGbI7UhYjOk-HTJWavP8DJsgGGHUSgrvuIhTuM16XeqosQwuJnCmHNBRluYaAr86EALw_wcB

I haven't seen this before. This looks interesting.

 

11 hours ago, studiot said:

Are you looking for free or commercial software ?

What about add ons to say MathCad, Mathematica, Wolfram Alfa etc ?

Free is always good but I'm looking for either of them. I own a license for Mathematica; so add-ons for Mathematica (or sagemath) are welcomed.

 

11 hours ago, studiot said:

You could help by narrowing the field of interest.

I was trying to cast a wide net. Anything that is applicable to the physics and molecular construction of materials is desirable.

Also, software for simulating the mechanics of materials is good. For example, I had an idea about canceling out wave propagation across a series of rigid structures of different material. In this situation, I'd hook up some sensors to a raspberry pi. Setup a structure to control the possible variables. Produce a wave through the structure. In this situation, I'd also be writing software for the raspberry pi. I'd like to move the structure(s), the sensors, and the wave generation into software. Instead of the software on the raspberry pi collecting data directly from the sensors, it would get the output from the software simulation.

Any software that can simulate the physics & chemistry for the molecular structure of materials, the thermodynamics of materials, the Newtonian mechanics of materials, and fluid dynamics. I'd like workflow of the simulation software to work on first principles rather than being heavily designed with a specific engineering application.

Is this narrow enough to be helpful? I'd like to take Menlo Park laboratory and put it in a RAD software environment. 

[Sensei]

CERN offers a few free SDKs for particle collisions simulations.. Does it count?

https://www.google.com/search?q=large+hadron+collider+simulation+sdk

 

[FragmentedCurve]

18 minutes ago, Sensei said:

CERN offers a few free SDKs for particle collisions simulations.. Does it count?

https://www.google.com/search?q=large+hadron+collider+simulation+sdk

 

This was actually very helpful. It lead me to some real world examples I can look at.

[studiot]

Perhaps not quite what you are looking for but here are some Chemistry links for you to explore.

 

Chemdraw

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chemdraw&sxsrf=ALeKk01PO048lS-m5UVKifuDGYj-5mGmkg%3A1618674249763&source=hp&ei=SQJ7YOWyLPGjgwfRxpzQCw&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYHsQWZSfkesJqZhYUdT2ydUYVTrAEQH_&oq=chemdraw&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBQgAELEDMgUIABCxAzICCAAyAggAOgQIIxAnOgUILhCRAjoICC4QkQIQkwI6CAguELEDEIMBOg4ILhCxAxCDARDHARCvAToLCAAQsQMQgwEQyQM6BQgAEJIDOgsILhCxAxDHARCjAlDkEFiyPGDcPmgBcAB4AIABvgqIAeAfkgEPMC4yLjMuMC4yLjAuMS4xmAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpeg&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwil-6W9z4XwAhXx0eAKHVEjB7oQ4dUDCAg&uact=5

 

Chemsketch

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chemsketch&sxsrf=ALeKk01dtdCGvDqE6Dkx8i0m0VwV8nCC2Q%3A1618674259389&ei=UwJ7YImmF5PygQax2prQDQ&oq=chemsketch&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBAgAEEMyBAgAEEMyBAgAEEMyAggAOgcIABBHELADOgcIABCwAxBDOgQIIxAnOgcIABCxAxBDOgUIABCxA1DktwtYitELYOrSC2gBcAJ4AIABxASIAbgLkgEHOS4xLjUtMZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXrIAQrAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwjJm_PBz4XwAhUTecAKHTGtBtoQ4dUDCA0&uact=5

 

Crystal structure animations (mineralogy)

http://www.wiredchemist.com/mineralogy/instructional/crystal-structure

 

University of Liverpool

 UOL offers some excellent animations in Chemistry and spectroscopy.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=university+of+liverpool+molecules+animations&sxsrf=ALeKk00JfY6HhmqA0g2YeACTA6l2Ixn24w%3A1618674452382&ei=FAN7YP7qFtCfgQbhqY0Y&oq=university+of+liverpool+molecules+animations&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6BwgAEEcQsAM6BwgAELADEEM6BAgjECc6BQgAEJECOgUIABCxAzoICAAQsQMQgwE6BQguELEDOggILhCxAxCTAjoCCAA6BwgAEIcCEBQ6CAguEMcBEK8BOgUILhCTAjoGCAAQFhAeOgcIIRAKEKABOgUIIRCgAToICCEQFhAdEB5QgIEQWKCwEWCishFoBHACeACAAa4FiAHSK5IBCzI0LjIyLjEuNS0xmAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpesgBCsABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwj-xPad0IXwAhXQT8AKHeFUAwMQ4dUDCA0&uact=5

 

Online ph calculators

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=online+ph+calculators&sxsrf=ALeKk02RZMtO06VYoRPoWqV5g7qgF4dgmg%3A1618675059887&source=hp&ei=cwV7YOL3M6-cjLsPltm0sAU&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYHsTg8X6pLI1qXxSv0vE35PzD7VaDShf&oq=online+ph+calculators&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCggAEAgQDRAKEB46BAgjECc6BQgAEJECOgQIABBDOgUIABCxAzoCCAA6BAgAEAo6BggAEBYQHlDmAlj0JmCQXmgAcAB4AIABogeIAe5KkgELMi0yLjEuMy40LjaYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwii_cu_0oXwAhUvDmMBHZYsDVYQ4dUDCAg&uact=5

Edited April 17, 2021 by studiot