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The Art of Molecular Dynamics Simulation
D. C. Rapaport. Cambridge University Press: New York, 1996. 400 pp. ISBN 0 521 44561 2. $74.95.
This book describes the extremely powerful techniques of molecular dynamics simulation. The techniques involve solving the classical many-body problems in contexts relevant to the study of matter at the atomic level. The method allows the prediction of static and dynamics properties of substances directly from the underlying interactions between molecules. This is, of course, a very broad subject and the author has adopted a dual approach in that the text is partly tutorial and also contains a large number of computer programs for practical use.
Rapaport has adopted the attitude of trying the simplest method first. Atoms are modeled as point particles interacting through point potentials. Molecules are represented by atoms with orientation dependent forces, or as extended structures each containing several interaction sites. The molecules may be rigid, flexible, or somewhere in between,...