“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road.” - Stewart Brand

"If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is."
                                                -John von Neumann

Information processing technology has amplified, enhanced and transformed our environment, allowing us not only to calculate, but also to communicate and speculate. Science, physics in particular, has benefited profoundly from computer development.  With computers performing simulations of natural phenomena, automatically controlling laboratory equipment, and recording and analyzing large volumes of data from various experiments, the amount of routine labor required to obtain numerical results is considerably reduced, leaving us time to find meaningful patterns in those numerical results, to build and study models, to unleash our imaginations, and to reinforce what education has always understood: knowledge is power.

Beginning with the Masters Hall first-year student labs, equipped with computers dedicated to collecting, analyzing and graphing data directly from experiments, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of a number of computer programs.  You will use them in class and in lab courses throughout your matriculation at Gettysburg College, and will want to utilize them on your own time, as well.  Gettysburg College is committed to maintaining state-of-the-art computer technology, with computer resources rivaling those of far larger institutions.  Through them, students have assess to the World Wide Web, the Internet, electronic mail, journals, books, library resources, databases, bulletin boards and general information systems of academic and research libraries around the world.  The campus microenvironment includes over 1300 microcomputers and a complex system of Sun workstations and laboratories. A SUN 4/690 server allows students and faculty to access mainframe applications, and sophisticated multi-processor computers provide high-end computational support. High speed access to resources on the Internet and the World Wide Web, and the Pittsburgh and Cornell Super Computer Centers make it possible for students and faculty to share information and ideas easily and thoroughly.

You will most likely discover, if you have not done so already, that it is not difficult to become skilled at navigating and writing programs on your own – but keep in mind that help is available. The Gettysburg College Computer Science Department offers formal courses in computer programming, and the Computing Services Office provides free, continuous training sessions.  You will find it both pleasant and profitable to use your programming proficiency to perform calculations and solve homework problems.  Many programs that have already been prepared by faculty and other students for various physics courses will also be available to you.

All students pursuing a major in physics are strongly advised to purchase a personal calculator with scientific functions; any model containing at least log and trig functions and some statistical functions should be sufficient.  The use of a personal computer, if available, is encouraged, but there is no requirement that students have their own.

Physics majors are ideally trained to make the best use of computers: they have the mathematical skills to master programming techniques, and the knowledge of physics required to understand computer circuitry.  We urge you to take the many opportunities available to learn how to use them to your best advantage; such experience will enrich your years at Gettysburg and provide you with an invaluable tool for the years that follow.

Click here for information from the College regarding computing facilities/services.
 
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