A simple molecular dynamics model is constructed using the Lennard-Jones potential truncated at a distance of 3 molecular diameters. This is a reasonably accurate model of then interactions between noble gas atoms. The motion of the molecules is governed by Newton's laws, approximated using the Verlet algorithm with the indicated time step dt. For sufficiently small time steps, the system's total energy should be approximately conserved.
This model assumes periodic boundary conditions in order to remove wall effects. The model is a good approximation for an infinite system if the number cell size and the number of particles are large.
In order to create as simple a model as possible, all parameters are hard-coded into the model. See the related Molecular Dynamics model for a simulation with hard walls and adjustable parameters.
The Molecular Dynamics model is based on a Java applet written by Dan Schroeder, Physics Department, Weber State University. See:
http://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/software/
This simulation was created by Wolfgang Christian using the Easy Java Simulations (Ejs) modeling tool and is designed to teach modeling. Users can inspect and modify the underlying model by copying the model from the running program into Ejs. Right click within the simulation to examine the model in Ejs.
You can examine and modify this simulation if you have Ejs installed by right-clicking within a plot and selecting "Open Ejs Model" from the pop-up menu. Information about Ejs is available at: <http://www.um.es/fem/Ejs/>.
The Easy Java Simulations (EJS) manual can be downloaded from the ComPADRE Open Source Physics collection and from the Ejs website.
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