Molecular dynamics simulations of particles with van der Waals interaction
In molecular dynamics simulations, the motion of molecules in the force field of all other molecules is calculated. The video shows the collision of two argon atoms in a one-dimensional system. In addition, the exchange between the potential and kinetic energy during the collisions is plotted. The temperature is chosen so low that the two atoms cannot separate, thus a van der Waals dimer is present.
If one simulates many particles, then the system behaves chaotically in the sense of deterministic chaos.
The student-created stop-motion video below shows the classical oscillation of a diatomic system. It illustrates the mapping of the quadratic potential model to the time domain.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ckon.202200058