Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Introduction x
4. 1. Feynman Meets Fermat 1
5. 2. Just for Fun: Two Quick Number-Crunching Problems 16
6. 3. Computers and Mathematical Physics 27
7. 4. The Astonishing Problem of the Hanging Masses 82
8. 5. The Three-Body Problem and Computers 131
9. 6. Electrical Circuit Analysis and Computers 218
10. 7. The Leapfrog Problem 288
11. 8. Science Fiction: When Computers Become Like Us 297
12. 9. A Cautionary Epilogue 328
13. Appendix 335
14. Solutions to the Challenge Problems 337
15. Acknowledgments 371
16. Index 373
17. Also By Paul J. Nahin 377