Simulation & Models : Summary

Simulation & Models : Summary

1.	A computer simulation is a computer program which attempts to duplicate or forecast the behaviour of a real life system.

2.	A simulation is a simplified model of the real life system.

3.	Simulations are used for three reasons : Cost : It can be much cheaper to simulate something than to actually do it. Safety : Some things are very dangerous. Simulating them is safer than actually doing them. Feasibility : Some things are just not possible but we can simulate what they would be like.

4.	Simulations function using variables and rules : Variables : Variables are things in a simulation that can change. Rules : Rules determine how the variables in the model are changed and how they affect each other.

5.	The mathematical calculations that make a simulation work are known as a model.

6.	Some simulations require specialised input and output devices.

7.	Spreadsheet software can be used to simulate situations which involve calculations : The numbers typed into the spreadsheet are the variables in the simulation. The formulae which perform the calculations are the rules of the simulation.

8.	Flight Simulators are used to train pilots. Specialised input and output devices are required to operate the simulator. Rules and variables will be used to mimic the operation of a real aircraft.

9.	A virtual reality (VR) system places the user of a computerised simulation in an artifically created environment. By using sophisticated computer graphics, three dimensional VR headsets and a data glove the user can almost come to believe that the artificially created environment is real. Applications of virtual reality systems include a virtual office, training and recreational gaming.

10.	Other example uses of simulations include computer games, science experiments, weather forecasting and economic modelling.

11.	Simulations do not copy every aspect of a real life simulation, and so the results produced by a simulation can not always be relied on to accurately predict the behaviour of the real life system : Incorporating all the factors that affect a simulation would make it very difficult and expensive to produce the simulation. The number of variables and rules involved would be massive. Some situations that could occur in real life are so unlikely to happen that the designer of a simulation would probably not think of including the situations in the simulation.

12.	Because of the limitations of a simulation, the results produced by a simulation are often tested in the real world. This is especially important when the simulation relates to safety matters.