Wednesday, April 16, 2008

I'm simulating benzene

I'm in a statistical mechanics class this semester, and we have a final project to do. The final project consists of running at least two different stat. mech. simulation types to study some observable properties of a particular chemical species. My group decided to simulate benzene across different pressures and temperature to study phase-change phenomena, amongst other variables.[1] [2]

We're going to run a Monte-Carlo caluclation in a yet-to-be-determined staistical ensemble and molecular dynamics simulation in a microconanical ensemble. [3] If time permits, I want to do a potential of mean force calculation. Aside from phase change phenomena, I want to also study the heat capacity, chemical potential, free energy, viral coefficiant, pair radial distribution function, time-correlation function, and the diffusion constant. [4]

All simluations will hopefully be ran on the supercomputers at LSU. If not, I'll dedicate my desktop's computing powers to the project. [5]

Now, someone give me more time to do this project, because it's due around the same time as my other projects :\

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[1] This group is different than the group for the analytic project.

[2] Benzene is "big enough" to seem complicated, but "simple enough" in the calculations due to some approximations.

[3] My group can't come to a consensus of Gibbs ensemble versus canonical. I have a previously developed binary for the Gibbs model, so I want to use it (I used it to study orthoterphenyl with benzene impurities in a range of temperatures including the temperature of glass-formation). They want the canonical because it's easier for them to understand it >.<

[4] From previous research, I have or have found code that calculates each from the Gibbs model and/or from the output of PLINY_MD. Another reason I want to use Gibbs ensemble >.<

[5] That would suck because I hate how my Windows compiler compiles FORTRAN code. And I hate DOS commands. Period.

1 comment:

Maxwell's Demoness said...

Awwwwww benzene. Such a cyute little thing!!! One of the other grad students in my lab is doing MD on a 64KD enzyme, and once he leaves I might be next... (ulp!) Good luck with your project.