Simulation as the 3rd Way of Doing Science

Within DOE they have developed a new perspective on the importance of modeling and simulation. They call M&S “the third way of doing science”. The first way is through observation. The second is through direct experimentation. Faced with so many significant problems for which they cannot do experimentation or perform observation, they are turning to M&S as the tool to understand the behaviors of all of their systems. In their community a “simulation” is an exact, physics-based representation of the real system; a “model” is an aggregate or stochastic representation that estimates behaviors at a higher level because they do not understand exactly what is happening. M&S is the primary method of conducting energy research.

The origins of the phrase “the third way of doing science” seem to be in one of the two documents below

• DOE Publication
  
• Science Magazine
  

MEMS for Weapon Orientation

We have studied the current state of MEMS devices that can serve as orientation and movement sensors. These devices are currently light, consume little energy, and cost little to produce. However, their accuracy is much worse than the larger, more traditional devices. This is the profile of a disruptive technology. The new devices have inferior performance in the area that is most important to current customers, so they do not adopt the devices. However, they provide a capability at such a low power, weight, and cost that an entirely new market will open up for the devices. The revenues from this new market, as well as global R&D, will improve the technology so that eventually it will provide better performance than the established systems and drive those out of business.

More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology