IsisCB Explore

Article ID: CBB856723613

A child of prediction. On the History, Ontology, and Computation of the Lennard-Jonesium (2024)

Lenhard, Johannes (Author)
Simon Stephan (Author)
Hans Hasse (Author)

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Volume: 103
Pages: 105-113

URI: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039368123001668

DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2023.11.007

Outside Links

WorldCat

Google Scholar

JSTOR

Academia.edu

Models and modeling in science Scientific reproducibility Thermodynamics Explanation; hypotheses; theories Ontology Fluid mechanics Computational methods Modern Lennard-Jones, John Edward, Sir

The Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluid, named after mathematician-physicist-chemist Sir John Lennard-Jones (1894–1954), occupies a special place among fluids. It is an ideal entity, defined as the fluid whose particles interact according to the Lennard-Jones potential. This paper expounds the history of the LJ fluid to throw light on the tensions between theory and computational practice. The paper argues for the following claims. Firstly, the computational approach—even prior to the computer—pragmatically aims at prediction, not truth. Secondly, computer simulation methods, especially “molecular dynamics” (MD), triggered a change in epistemology. Now, simulated model fluids became targets of investigation in their own right. The urge for prediction turned the LJ fluid into the most investigated fluid in engineering thermodynamics. Thirdly, MD took a huge upswing in the 1990s, due to exploratory options in simulation. We discuss how, under these conditions, predictive success might be fraught with problems of reproducibility.

...More

Citation URI

https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB856723613/

Citations Indexes

Similar Citations

Book Hagler, Gina; (2013)
Modeling Ships and Space Craft: The Science and Art of Mastering the Oceans and Sky (/isis/citation/CBB001213186/)

Article Frisch, Uriel; Villone, Barbara; (2014)
Cauchy's Almost Forgotten Lagrangian Formulation of the Euler Equation for 3D Incompressible Flow (/isis/citation/CBB001421685/)

Article Fleischmann, Kenneth R.; Wallace, William A.; (Spring 2017)
Ethical Implications of Computational Modeling (/isis/citation/CBB721562108/)

Article Miles MacLeod; Nancy J. Nersessian; (2015)
Modeling systems-level dynamics: Understanding without mechanistic explanation in integrative systems biology (/isis/citation/CBB511081415/)

Article Baker, Kevin T.; (2017)
Simulation and “Seduction” at the Policy Interface (/isis/citation/CBB450364367/)

Chapter Vrishali Subramanian; Sanjay Chandrasekharan; Nancy J. Nersessian; (2012)
Computational Modeling: Is This the End of Thought Experiments in Science? (/isis/citation/CBB739614030/)

Article McAllister, Therese P.; van de Lindt, John; Ellingwood, Bruce; (Summer 2019)
A Fully Integrated Model of Interdependent Physical Infrastructure and Social Systems (/isis/citation/CBB495253737/)

Article Miles MacLeod; Nancy J. Nersessian; (2018)
Modeling Complexity: Cognitive Constraints and Computational Model-Building in Integrative Systems Biology (/isis/citation/CBB935002178/)

Article Read, Dwight; (2013)
Modeling Cultural Idea Systems: The Relationship between Theory Models and Data Models (/isis/citation/CBB001320395/)

Article A. D. Richmond; (2019)
Thermosphere-Ionosphere Model Development: A Personal Perspective (/isis/citation/CBB118540557/)

Article Seamus Bradley; Karim P. Y. Thébault; (2019)
Models on the move: Migration and imperialism (/isis/citation/CBB657219096/)

Article Justin Price; (2019)
The landing zone – Ground for model transfer in chemistry (/isis/citation/CBB898182417/)

Article Antonino Drago; (2021)
Joule’s Experiment as an Event Triggering a Formalization of a Baconian Science Till Up to an Alternative Theory to Newton’s One (/isis/citation/CBB678427289/)

Article Callender, Craig; (2004)
Measures, Explanations, and the Past: Should “Special” Initial Conditions be Explained? (/isis/citation/CBB000410754/)

Book Bordoni, Stefano; (2012)
Taming Complexity: Duhem's Third Pathway to Thermodynamics (/isis/citation/CBB001500299/)

Chapter Tamara Ketabgian; (2017)
The Energy of Belief: The Unseen Universe, and the Spirit of Thermodynamics (/isis/citation/CBB232624810/)

Essay Review Needham, Paul; (2014)
Unearthing a Buried Memory (/isis/citation/CBB001500298/)

Article Slowik, Edward; (2013)
Newton's Neo-Platonic Ontology of Space (/isis/citation/CBB001320863/)

Article Monton, Bradley; (2004)
The Problem of Ontology for Spontaneous Collapse Theories (/isis/citation/CBB000471125/)

Article David Merritt; (2021)
Cosmological Realism (/isis/citation/CBB244895079/)

Comments

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}