7. Other Models

We have looked at a couple of examples of how models might be used. There are hundreds more examples. Here are a few more:

Bridge design

If a new bridge is being designed, modelling will need to be used to predict how it might move or vibrate at different wind speeds. Also, how it will cope with different weights of vehicles travelling over it at different speeds.

Rollercoaster design

Imagine building a rollercoaster based only on a drawing. What if the drop and first bend was so severe that the carriage were derailed? What if the G Force was so high that people became unconcious while on the ride? What if the speed reached wasn't fast enough to push the carriages up the slope and round the upside-down loop?

A lot of modelling based on mathematical equations and physics is done on any new rollercoaster design to test out what works safely and what needs to be changed.

Nuclear industry

One of the most powerful supercomputers on the planet is being used to run models of nuclear reactions. This avoids carrying out real nuclear explosions.

Global warming

Many of the worlds supercomputers are being used by universities to help model the changes in the Earth's temperature, patterns of rainfall and the ozone levels in order to understand how global warming will take place.