Optimal backround for reading this note
- Some interest in exploring physics through numerical simulation
- Some very basic knowledge of differential equations
- Some very basic knowledge of finite difference approximations
- Significant interest in exploring Python for scientific computations
No background in Python is assumed - the aim is to give an impression of
how Python can be used in a MATLAB-like fashion to solve a real-world
physical problem (with low mathematical complexity).
If you need motivation for using Python as programming language,
see Appendix: Quick motivation for programming with Python. Lists of many useful tutorials
and introductions to Python, with emphasis on scientific computing,
are found in Appendix: Scientific Python resources.