ABSTRACT
Introduction It is amazing how much computing power has progressed since the invention of the Chinese abacus: from slide rule to mechanical calculator, vacuum-tube computer, punch-card computer, personal computer, supercomputer, and cluster-supercomputer (Figure 1.1). Calculation speed has increased roughly 1010 times in the span of about 50 years and is still growing. Its immense impact on every sector of society is astonishing. In this chapter, the significance of computational science in materials is addressed, and a brief description of the various methods is presented. The last section will provide remarks on the development of computers.
