Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The term model is used in multiple ways in science and there are several different kinds of models. The most basic scientific models are material and conceptual analogues. They are copies that stand in for more opaque systems. Cloud chambers and cell cultures are examples of material models, whereas conceptual models are more abstract analogies that seek to render theories more comprehensible. Mathematical models are typically applications, approximations, or specifications of theories and principles that cannot be applied in their original form. Computer simulations tend to be more obvious analogues than models, aptly characterized as virtual copies of systems. Simulations employ a generative mechanism to imitate the dynamic behavior of the underlying process that the simulations aim to represent. Simulation is an ambiguous term, but in all cases of scientific simulations they are based on some form of model. However, simulation models can be divided into two overall types, both of which tend to be used for representations of complex dynamics. The first type is based on mathematical models, which aim to represent established theoretical statements or physical laws. Simulations in physically based sciences usually exemplify this type of simulation. The second type of simulation model is based on simpler models, which consist of a few assumptions about leading mechanisms. This is ... log in or subscribe to read full text