MONTE CARLO SIMULATION OF POLYMERS - AN INTRODUCTORY MOVIE.
Albert H. Widmann, Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Polymer Science
and Technology, University of Leeds, UK LS2 9JT (a.h.widmann@irc.leeds.ac.uk)
and Ulrich W. Suter, Institute of Polymers, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland, CH-8092
This video film is intended as an introduction to physicists and chemists
who want to learn about the art of Monte Carlo simulation of long chain
molecules. The simulation of dense polymer systems is of great importance
for the prediction of their physical properties and for a better understanding
of the relationship between such properties and the molecular structure
of polymers. Monte Carlo techniques are suitable to treat such systems,
which possess many different degrees of freedom, because they can apply
drastic modifications to chain structures and therefore sample configuration
space efficiently. Some of the best known Monte Carlo algorithms will be
explained and their difficulties in handling long-chain molecules illustrated
by comparing the simulation efficiencies with various polymer models. Results
of simulations to compute pVT properties of dense systems of long-chain
alkanes with explicit hydrogens are presented.
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