Education Resources
Guide to Mathematical Software at WFU
While our ancestors used slide rules and calculators, 21st century Physicists have the opportunity to use a variety of powerful software tools for problem solving, analysis, and visualization. The Wake Forest Community has many of these tools available from the software page available for PC and MAC formats. The licensing is handled on campus through the campus network or through VPN off campus. The following software packages are used in several physics courses at various levels and more generally by scientists and engineers throughout the world. All of these tools require some effort to realize their capabilities. The links below provide some instructions and examples on how to use each tool.
Matlab – For numerical analysis and visualization. YouTube videos prepared by Melvin Ryan (WFU Ph. D. 2018, Professor Fred Salsbury, mentor) on the use of Matlab.
Mathematica – For analytical analysis and visualization
Maple – For analytical analysis and visualization. Some example Maple scripts:
- Graphing and solving: Maple script format PDF file
- Eigenvalues and eigenvectors: Maple script format PDF file
- Animation: Maple script format PDF file GIF animation
Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers – Commonly used spreadsheets for analysis, plotting, and curve fitting. A simple example for each can be found below.
- Excel
- Google Sheets
- Numbers
Physics Education Resources
The faculty in the Physics Department at Wake Forest University are actively involved in physics education. We have developed a collection of resources that should be useful to any person interested in physics. These resources are provided here.
Lecture Videos
- General Physics lecture videos. Wake Forest University Department of Physics faculty and students present key topics in first year physics.
- Statistical mechanics and thermodynamics
- Electronics
- Mathematics lecture videos. Short tutorials on key concepts needed in physics.
Problem Solving Videos
Demonstration Videos
Short videos illustrating physics concepts. This collection of videos are useful for understanding physics concepts. Each demonstration focuses on one or a small number of important concepts.